ONCE, where the unentered Temple stood, at noon No sun-ray pierced the dim unwindowed aisle; And all the flooding whiteness of the moon Could only bathe the outer peristyle. And as we passed we praised the Temple front; But one went in; with careless feet he trod The long-forgotten pavement moss'd and blunt And found the altar of the unprayed-to God. He reached and lit the tapers of the shrine And let their radiance flood the vault obscure; But ah! upon what evil things to shine, Blind, crawling, chill, discoloured, and impure. Burn on, O Light, burn clearer in the gloom, And show the foulness of the illumin'd room. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...POETRY by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON VALENTINES TO MY MOTHER: 1880 by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI TO THE WINDS by BERNARD BARTON OLD THINGS by THOMAS T. BLEWETT THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS by MATHILDE BLIND |