I I AM no trumpet, but a reed; No flattering breath shall from me lead A silver sound, a hollow sound: I will not ring, for priest or king, One blast that in re-echoing Would leave a bondsman faster bound II I am no trumpet, but a reed, -- A broken reed, the wind indeed Left flat upon a dismal shore; Yet if a little maid or child Should sigh within it, earnest-mild This reed will answer evermore. III I am no trumpet, but a reed; Go, tell the fishers, as they spread Their nets along the river's edge, I will not tear their nets at all, Nor pierce their hands, if they should fall: Then let them leave me in the sedge. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GLOIRE DE DIJON by DAVID HERBERT LAWRENCE POLLY by WILLIAM BRIGHTY RANDS GARDEN DAYS: 2. NEST EGGS by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON LITTLE BELL by THOMAS WESTWOOD IMAGES: 6 by RICHARD ALDINGTON PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 78. AL-BARR by EDWIN ARNOLD |