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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE AUTHOR OF 'THE GREAT ILLUSION' by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN

Poet Analysis

First Line: SOME MEN, WE SAY, ARE SENT BEFORE THEIR TIME
Last Line: THE ROSE SHALL DOMINATE THE WILDERNESS.
Subject(s): ANGELL, NORMAN (1872-1962); PEACE;

SOME men, we say, are sent before their time;
Far back in general shadow their one lamp
Is seen from their high tower; alone they climb
To watch while the world dreams. Beyond the camp
Of nations arming twenty years ago,
One mind with gathering power and light remained;
The million thought the dream above, below
The action. This mistake we ascertained
Down ravenous precipices; at last slow-mending
From the hacked wounds of our proud error's field,
We find the new age daily apprehending
What Angell, had we listened then, revealed;
A tragic gratitude, whence none the less
The rose shall dominate the wilderness.



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