An independent creature, self-employd,
Yet but an agent in one common work,
The slim of all their individual labours.
Shap'less they seem'd, but endless shape assumed;
Elongated like worms, they writhed and shrunk
Their tortuous bodies to grotesque dimensions;
Compress'd like wedges, radiated like stars,
Branching like sea-weed, whirl'd in dazzling rings;
Subtle and variable as flickering flames,
Sight could not trace their evanescent changes,