WARD of the LAW! -- dread Shadow of a King! Whose realm had dwindled to one stately room; Whose universe was gloom immersed in gloom, Darkness as thick as life o'er life could fling, Save haply for some feeble glimmering Of Faith and Hope -- if thou, by nature's doom, Gently hast sunk into the quiet tomb, Why should we bend in grief, to sorrow cling, When thankfulness were best? -- Fresh-flowing tears, Or, where tears flow not, sigh succeeding sigh, Yield to such after-thought the sole reply Which justly it can claim. The Nation hears In this deep knell, silent for threescore years, An unexampled voice of awful memory! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MANASSAS [JULY 21, 1861] by CATHERINE ANNE WARFIELD COQUETTE by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH FRAGMENTS INTENDED FOR DEATH'S JEST-BOOK: HUMAN LIFE - ITS VALUE by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES LILIA'S TRESS by WILLIAM ROSE BENET IN VINCULIS; SONNETS WRITTEN IN AN IRISH PRISON: DEEDS MIGHT HAVE BEEN by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT |