JOHN rests below. A man more infamous Has never held the sceptre of these realms, And bruised beneath the iron rod of power, The oppressed men of England. Englishman! Curse not his memory. Murderer as he was, Coward and slave, yet he it was who signed That charter which should make thee, morn and night, Be thankful for thy birth-place: Englishman! That holy charter, which, shouldst thou permit Force to destroy, or fraud to undermine, Thy children's groans will persecute thy soul, For they must bear the burthen of thy crime. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONGS ON THE VOICES OF BIRDS; SEA-MEWS IN WINTER TIME by JEAN INGELOW THE PORTENT by HERMAN MELVILLE ALMS by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY THE WIND SUFFERS by LAURA RIDING ON RECEIVING [THE FIRST] NEWS OF THE WAR by ISAAC ROSENBERG THE QUIET PILGRIM by EDITH MATILDA THOMAS BEING A MOTHER by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING |