Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE CONQUERORS, by JOSE-MARIA DE HEREDIA (1842-1905)


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE CONQUERORS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Like a flight of falcons from the native slaughter
Last Line: Where from the ocean's depth there rose new stars.


Like a flight of falcons from the native slaughter
Weary of their misery's extreme,
From Palos de Moguer mariners took the water
Intoxicate with a bold and timeless dream.

They were setting out to win the fabulous metal
Cipango ripens in its far-off mines,
And the trade winds drove them on apace, to settle
In mysterious worlds where the setting sun shines.

And nightly they dreamt of epochal dawns near by;
The phosphorescent blue of the Tropic seas
Charmed their sleep with mirage of golden ease;

Or, peering from white caravels' tall spars,
They plumbed the secrets of an unknown sky
Where from the ocean's depth there rose new stars.





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