Time, wouldst thou hurt us? Never shall we grow old. Break as thou wilt these bodies of blind clay, Thou canst not touch us here, in our stronghold, Where two, made one, laugh all thy powers away. Though ramparts crumble and rusty gates grow thin, And our brave fortress dwine to a hollow shell, Thou shalt hear heavenly laughter, far within, Where, young as Love, two hidden lovers dwell. We shall go clambering up our twisted stairs To watch the moon through rifts in our grey towers. Thou shalt hear whispers, kisses, and sweet prayers Creeping through all our creviced walls like flowers. Wouldst wreck us, Time? When thy dull leaguer brings The last wall down, look heavenward. We have wings. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LINES WRITTEN TO HIS WIFE [WHILE ON A VISIT TO UPPER INDIA] by REGINALD HEBER JAZZONIA by JAMES LANGSTON HUGHES TOM MOONEY by WILLIAM ELLERY LEONARD THE EARL O' QUARTERDECK by GEORGE MACDONALD COLUMBUS AT THE CONVENT [JULY, 1491] by JOHN TOWNSEND TROWBRIDGE THE PROEM. TO LOVE by PHILIP AYRES |