The man whose birthday we renown tonight Unites all heads and hearts in one acclaim As never any other "heir of fame": The missionary may not love him quite, The imperialist may not think him wholly right. The predatory cabman free from blame, The moralist consider it the same To teach by joke as with a text in sight. Some as a scientist may not prize him much; Some may deny him the true lyric leaven As poet; some the fine old Bewick touch As wood engraver; but none under heaven, Of all his critics, or those who pose as such, Gainsay him the glory of being sixty-seven. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HOLY POEMS: 2 by GEORGE BARKER LINES; SUGGESTED BY GRAVES TWO ENGLISH SOLDIERS ON CONCORD by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL THOUGHT OF A BRITON ON THE SUBJUGATION OF SWITZERLAND by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH THE SURVIVAL by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN POUR QUI SAIT ATTENDRE by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT |