Dominium in Excelsis

Read "Dominium in Excelsis" at The Eldritch Dark:

http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/poetry/135/dominium-in-excelsis

The Latin title of this poem can be translated into English as "The Lord in the Highest".

I take this to be an exaltation of Satan, in the tradition of John Milton and Paradise Lost.  But it seems to me that it also speaks directly to the reader, calling for an engagement of the bold creative spirit within all of us:

Thy feet shall tread the Scorpion's lair,
Thy hands shall catch the comet's hair;
Or over Endor thou shalt ride
Unfrighted on the tamed Nightmare.

Although the many encounters described in the poem are weird, dark, and supernatural, the speaker sees the possibility for greater things beyond all that travail:

Till stones and atoms, shadow-wrought,
Dissolving shall return to naught,
Or into fairer shapes be brought.

It's not one of CAS' very best poems, but the grand cosmic sweep on display recalls the huge scope of his youthful works from the Star-Treader era, albeit expressed with a certain mature restraint that does not diminish the overall impact.