GRANT, that by this unsparing hurricane Green leaves with yellow mixed are torn away, And goodly fruitage with the mother spray; 'Twere madness -- wished we, therefore, to detain, With hands stretched forth in mollified disdain, The "trumpery" that ascends in bare display -- Bulls, pardons, relics, cowls black, white, and grey -- Upwhirled, and flying o'er the ethereal plain Fast bound for Limbo Lake. And yet not choice But habit rules the unreflecting herd, And airy bonds are hardest to disown; Hence, with the spiritual sovereignty transferred Unto itself, the Crown assumes a voice Of reckless mastery, hitherto unknown. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNET TO GEORGE SAND: 2. A DESIRE by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING MOTLEY: THE GHOST by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE THE SELF-UNSEEING by THOMAS HARDY THE ARSENAL AT SPRINGFIELD by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW NAMELESS PAIN by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH IN MEMORY: MISS JEWETT by GRACE ALLERTON ANDREWS |