Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


EPITAPH by MAURICE BARING

Poet Analysis

First Line: HERE MURDERED BY THE FRENZIED, NOT THE FREE
Last Line: AND WAITED FOR THE RISING OF THE KING.
Subject(s): EPITAPHS;

HERE, murdered by the frenzied, not the free,
Lies the last monarch of a star-crossed line;
Anointed Emperor by right divine:
From Arctic icefields to the Aral sea,
From Warsaw to the walls of Tartary.
His country's travail claimed a high design;
Too stubborn to respond, he shrank supine
Before the large demand of destiny.

Bereft of crown, and throne, and hearth, and name,
Grief lent him majesty, and suffering
Gave him a more than royal diadem.
His people kissed the desecrated hem
Of robes not now of splendour but of shame,
And waited for the rising of the King.



Home: PoetryExplorer.net