Phaetons lyrics
by Ted Hughes
Angrier, angrier, suddenly the near-madman
In mid-vehemence rolls back his eye
And lurches to his feet –
Under each sense the other four hurtle and thunder
Under the skull’s front the horses of the sun
The gentle reader in his silent room
Loses the words in mid-sentence –
The world has burned away beneath his book
A tossing upside-down team drags him on fire
Among the monsters of the zodiac.