Heaven and Earth

by Brett Rutherford

Adapted from Victor Hugo, l'Annee Terrible, "November 1870"

VIII

Make no mistake, I never hid
that I was leaning on the eternal enigma;
I know that being halfway-seated on the balance scale
between the earth and the heavens, makes my soul freer;
I know that by trusting the unknown, I feel
something immense and good coming down,
and thus one sees the nothingness of kings, and resists,
and one may fight and walk with a heart less sad.
I know that there are proud prophets who tempt danger
and in their daily habitudes of thought
prefer to meditate, to love, to believe, and to be, in short,
on their knees before God, while on their feet before a man.
Certainly, I am bent down, as I give pause
beneath the depths of infinity,
but the hand of heaven is motionless
    and does not do what men can do for themselves.

For each there is a duty and for each there is a task;
I know this too. When evil fate sends cowards fleeing,
it is up to us to each of us to bar its way,
without awakening the lightning of the firmament.
And I waiting, too to defeat it, with a lesser phenomenon:
let heaven thunder on if man has lightning.