THE captive Bird was gone; -- to cliff or moor Perchance had flown, delivered by the storm; Or he had pined, and sunk to feed the worm: Him found we not: but, climbing, a tall tower, There saw, impaved with rude fidelity Of art mosaic, in a roofless floor, An Eagle with stretched wings, but beamless eye -- An Eagle that could neither wail nor soar. Effigy of the Vanished -- (shall I dare To call thee so?) or symbol of fierce deeds And of the towering courage which past times Rejoiced in -- take, whate'er thou be, a share, Not undeserved, of the memorial rhymes That animate my way where'er it leads! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PROLONGED SONNET: WHEN THE TROOPS WERE RETURNING FROM MILAN by NICCOLO DEGLI ALBIZZI THE BOOK OF THEL by WILLIAM BLAKE ALCAICS: TO H. F. BROWN by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON MOST ANY BIT OF LANDSCAPE by JEAN CAMERON AGNEW EPITAPH ON THE SECRETARY TO THE MUSES by JANE BARKER AT ONE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE |