Winter Words Op. 52: VIII. Before Life and After

A time there was, as one may guess

And as indeed Earth's testimonies tell

Before the birth of consciousness

When all went well

None suffered sickness, love, or loss

None knew regret, starved hope, or heart-burnings

None cared whatever crash or cross

Brought wreck to things

If something ceased, no tongue bewailed

If something winced and waned, no heart was wrung

If brightness dimmed, and dark prevailed

No sense was stung

But the disease of feeling germed

And primal rightness took the tinct of wrong

Ere nations shall be reaffirmed

How long?