WHEN haughty expectations prostrate lie, And grandeur crouches like a guilty thing, Oft shall the lowly weak, till nature bring Mature release, in fair society Survive, and Fortune's utmost anger try; Like these frail snowdrops that together cling, And nod their helmets, smitten by the wing Of many a furious whirl-blast sweeping by. Observe the faithful flowers! if small to great May lead the thoughts, thus struggling used to stand The Emathian phalanx, nobly obstinate; And so the bright immortal Theban band, Whom onset, fiercely urged at Jove's command, Might overwhelm, but could not separate! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO JOHN KEATS, POET, AT SPRING TIME by COUNTEE CULLEN AT THE CANNON'S MOUTH by HERMAN MELVILLE THE ENTHUSIAST by HERMAN MELVILLE THE WHEELING WORLD by JAMES ROBERT ALLEN MY LETTERS by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM WASTE GROUND by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN THE SHEPHERD'S PIPE: DEDICATION TO EDWARD, LORD ZOUCH by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) |