Yes, injured Woman! rise, assert thy right! Woman! too long degraded, scorned, oppressed; O born to rule in partial Law's despite, Resume thy native empire o'er the breast! Go forth arrayed in panoply divine, That angel pureness which admits no stain; Go, bid proud Man his boasted rule resign And kiss the golden spectre of thy reign. Go, gird thyself with grace, collect thy store Of bright artillery glancing from afar; Soft melting tones thy thundering cannon's roar, Blushes and tears thy magazine of war. Thy rights are empire; urge no meaner claim, -- Felt, not defined, and if debated, lost; Like sacred mysteries, which withheld from fame, Shunning discussion, are revered the most. Try all that wit and art suggest to bend Of thy imperial foe the stubborn knee; Make treacherous Man thy subject, not thy friend; Thou mayest command, but never canst be free. Awe the licentious and restrain the rude; Soften the sullen, clear the cloudy brow; Be, more than princes' gifts, thy favors sued; -- She hazzards all, who will the least allow. But hope not, courted idol of mankind, On this proud eminence secure to stay; Subduing and subdued, thou soon shalt find Thy coldness soften, and thy pride give way. Then, then, abandon each ambitious thought; Conquest or rule thy heart shall feebly move, In Nature's school, by her soft maxims taught That seperate rights are lost in mutual love. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ON THE MORNING OF CHRIST'S NATIVITY by JOHN MILTON AN ESSAY ON CRITICISM by ALEXANDER POPE THE SHEPHEARDES CALENDER: FEBRUARY by EDMUND SPENSER VULTURES by GHALIB IBN RIBAH AL-HAJJAM UNREASONABLE REASON by JOSEPH BEAUMONT PRINCE ADEB by GEORGE HENRY BOKER |