Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, JOSEPH WARREN, M.D, by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES


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JOSEPH WARREN, M.D, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Trained in the holy art whose lifted shield
Last Line: Where freedom's victory in defeat was found.
Subject(s): Warren, Joseph (1741-1775)


TRAINED in the holy art whose lifted shield
Wards off the darts a never-slumbering foe,
By hearth and wayside lurking, waits to throw,
Oppression taught his helpful arm to wield
The slayer's weapon: on the murderous field
The fiery bolt he challenged laid him low,
Seeking its noblest victim. Even so
The charter of a nation must be sealed!
The healer's brow the hero's honors crowned,
From lowliest duty called to loftiest deed.
Living, the oak-leaf wreath his temples bound;
Dying, the conqueror's laurel was his meed,
Last on the broken ramparts' turf to bleed
Where Freedom's victory in defeat was found.





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