How easily the breath of God o'erwhelms The nations that presume to live for gain! And clogs the motion of imperial realms, As our poor breath the fly upon the pane: Though our deep-laden argosies rejoice From port to port to drag the seething sea Across the world, how helpless we may be In one brief year, despite our trade and noise! Too oft, when, burthen'd with our chests and bales, From the four winds we bring our freightage home, We help to strike our country's honour dumb; Her noble voice, once heard above the gales, Is lost among the stowage, while the prayer Of our weak neighbours finds us slow to dare. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TERMINUS (1) by RALPH WALDO EMERSON DUNS SCOTUS'S OXFORD by GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS I HEAR AMERICA SINGING by WALT WHITMAN THE PEN by GHALIB IBN RIBAH AL-HAJJAM YOUTH AND AGE by GEORGE ARNOLD THE SEAMSTRESS by HENRI BARBUSSE |