The flash at midnight! - 'twas a light <br />That gave the blind a moment's sight <br />Then sank in tenfold gloom; <br />Loud, deep, and long, the thunder broke, <br />The deaf ear instantly awoke, <br />Then closed as in the tomb: <br />An angel might have passed my bed, <br />Sounded the trump of God, and fled. <br /> <br />So life appears; - a sudden birth, <br />A glance revealing heaven and earth <br />It is - and it is not! <br />So fame the poet's hope deceives, <br />Who sings for after time, and leaves <br />A name - to be forgot, <br />Life - is a lightning-flash of breath; <br />Fame - but a thunder clap at death.<br /><br />James Montgomery<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-flash-at-midnight/
