FRANCE! I will think of thee as what thou wast, When Poictiers show'd her zeal for the true creed; Or in that age, when Holy Truth, though cast On a rank soil, yet was a thriving seed, Thy schools within, from neighbouring countries chased; E'en of thy pagan day I bear to read, Thy Martyrs sanctified the guilty host, The sons of blessed John, reared on a western coast. I dare not think of thee as what thou art Lest thoughts too deep for man should trouble me. It is not safe to place the mind and heart On brink of evil, or its flames to see, Lest they should dizzy, or some taint impart, Or to our sin a fascination be. And so in silence I will now proclaim Hate of thy present self, and scarce will sound thy name. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE GHOST OF DEACON BROWN by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON THE SLEEPING BEAUTY by SAMUEL ROGERS NATIONAL ODE; INDEPENDENCE SQUARE, PHILADELPHIA by BAYARD TAYLOR IDYLLS OF THE KING: LANCELOT AND ELAINE by ALFRED TENNYSON TALL NETTLES by PHILIP EDWARD THOMAS LILIES: 20. 'SOME DAY I WILL TELL YOU' by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) |