THE warrior crossed the ocean's foam For the stormy fields of war; The maid was left in a smiling home And a sunny land afar. His voice was heard where javelin showers Poured on the steel-clad line; Her step was midst the summer flowers, Her seat beneath the vine. His shield was cleft, his lance was riven, And the red blood stained his crest; While she -- the gentlest wind of heaven Might scarcely fan her breast! Yet a thousand arrows passed him by, And again he crossed the seas; But she had died as roses die That perish with a breeze -- As roses die, when the blast is come For all things bright and fair. There was death within the smiling home -- How had death found her there? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: PAULINE BARRETT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS CHANSON D'AUTOMNE by PAUL VERLAINE JOHN KEATS (1) by GEORGE GORDON BYRON THE GRANDMOTHER'S APOLOGY by ALFRED TENNYSON |