The Farthest Thunder That I Heard lyrics

The farthest thunder that I heard
   Was nearer than the sky,
And rumbles still, though torrid noons
   Have lain their missiles by.
The lightning that preceded it
   Struck no one but myself,
But I would not exchange the bolt
   For all the rest of life.
Indebtedness to oxygen
   The chemist may repay,
But not the obligation
   To electricity.
It founds the homes and decks the days,
   And every clamor bright
Is but the gleam concomitant
   Of that waylaying light.
The thought is quiet as a flake, —
   A crash without a sound;
How life's reverberation
   Its explanation found!