George Darley

Lenimina Laborum. 27. The Free-Booter

As the prey-freighted eagle cleaves the storm
With potent wing; while, at his scream and clang
To warn his famished brood, the hollow hills
Reverberate far and near; beneath his flight
The valley darkens, and his cloudy form
Swims up the sward to meet him as he glides
Into his mountain-nest: so comes Manrique
The single fear of many a province round.
Robber and outlaw!—a mere jot of life
'Mid the still-standing rocks and precipices,
He moves right upward to his craggy dome
Scooped in the pinnacle. His horn, by times,
Shrill-throated, splits its voice among the rocks,
And sooty visages look out and smile!