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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


APOLLO BELVIDERE by ALEXANDER ANDERSON

First Line: BACK TO THE GRAND APOLLO! TELL ME NOT

Back to the grand Apollo! Tell me not
A mortal had to do with this. I know
That if a god content him here below,
A mightier god must bind him to the spot.
Can this be genius that can so enthral,
And lift us, Mahomet-like, until we feel
The very heaven around us, and we reel
In the delight of worship? Who can call
This splendid triumph stone? Say rather we
Behold a god who came to men, and met
His punishment in marble; yet he lives
While we, with all our throbbing being set,
Worship with the bold thought that it may be
Idolatry that heaven itself forgives.




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