They cursed us, living without laws! Who bared no blade, but in just cause: O spirit of the wild hill-side! O spirit of the steel! We answered nothing, when they cried, And, when the battle blood had poured Oh, brave to hear, how torrents roared My brothers, whom in warrior wise Lionel Johnson [1867-1902] COMRADES I ROSE up when the battle was dead, I, the most wounded man of us all! From the slain that fell, to the living that fled, Thou whose strength was an oak that branched, Thine the face that the fighting blanched, Had I, beloved, when swords swept measure, Then with the peace, when the fight was ended, "Yonder he lies whom once I befriended, Sharing his rest in the ranks of the dead.” Ghosts of the riders, ghosts of the ridden, Never again to be near my side. Here, beloved, when the fight has slackened, Over the mounds with dead men blackened, Though thou lurk in the caverns beneath, Oh, poor soul, all the night unstanched, Laurence Housman [1867 JAFFAR Shelley, take this to thy dear memory; To praise the generous, is to think of thee. JAFFAR, the Barmecide, the good Vizier, The poor man's hope, the friend without a peer, On all they owed to the divine Jaffàr. "Bring me this man," the caliph cried. The man Was brought, was gazed upon. The mutes began To bind his arms. "Welcome, brave cords," cried he; "From bonds far worse Jaffàr delivered me; From wants, from shames, from loveless household fears; Restored me, loved me, put me on a par Haroun, who felt that on a soul like this And hold the giver as thou deemest fit!" "Gifts!" cried the friend; he took, and holding it High toward the heavens, as though to meet his star, Exclaimed, "This, too, I owe to thee, Jaffàr!" Leigh Hunt [1784-1859] COUNSEL If thou shouldst bid thy friend farewell, But for one night though that farewell may be, Press thou his hand in thine; thou canst not tell How far from thee Fate or caprice may lead his feet Ere that to-morrow come. Men have been known Lightly to turn the corner of a street, And days have grown To months, and months to lagging years, Therefore, lest sudden death should come between, Yea, find thou always time to say Some earnest word betwixt the idle talk, Mary Evelyn Moore Davis [1852-1909] TO A FRIEND WHEN we were idlers with the loitering rills, The need of human love we little noted: One soul was ours, one mind, one heart devoted, That man is more than half of nature's treasure, Of that sweet music which no ear can measure; Hartley Coleridge [1796–1849] "FAREWELL! BUT WHENEVER" FAREWELL!-but whenever you welcome the hour And still on that evening, when Pleasure fills up My soul, happy friends, shall be with you that night; Shall join in your revels, your sports, and your wiles, Let Fate do her worst, there are relics of joy, Bright dreams of the past, which she cannot destroy; "AWAKE! AWAKE!" From "Song of the Dawn" AWAKE! awake! the stars are pale, the east is russet gray; They fade, behold the phantoms fade, that keep the gates of Day; Throw wide the burning valves, and let the golden streets be free, The morning watch is past-the watch of evening shall not be. Put off, put off your mail, ye kings, and beat your brands to dust; A surer grasp your hands must know, your hearts a better trust; Nay, bend aback the lance's point, and break the helmet bar, A noise is on the morning winds; but not the noise of war! For aye, the time of wrath is past, and near the time of rest, And honor binds the brow of man, and faithfulness his breast, Behold, the time of wrath is past, and righteousness shall be, And the Wolf is dead in Arcady and the Dragon in the sea! John Ruskin [1819-1900] |