Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ZIMBABWE, by ANDREW LANG Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Into the darkness whence they came Last Line: Like us, like us, for love of gold. Subject(s): Gold; Zimbabwe | ||||||||
(The ruined Gold Cities of Rhodesia. The Ophir of Scripture.) Into the darkness whence they came, They passed, their country knoweth none, They and their gods without a name Partake the same oblivion. Their work they did, their work is done, Whose gold, it may be, shone like fire About the brows of Solomon, And in the House of God's Desire. Hence came the altar all of gold, The hinges of the Holy Place, The censer with the fragrance rolled Skyward to seek Jehovah's face; The golden Ark that did encase The Law within Jerusalem, The lilies and the rings to grace The High Priest's robe and diadem. The pestilence, the desert spear, Smote them; they passed, with none to tell The names of them who laboured here: Stark walls and crumbling crucible, Strait gates, and graves, and ruined well, Abide, dumb monuments of old, We know but that men fought and fell, Like us, like us, for love of Gold. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BALLADE OF BLUE CHINA by ANDREW LANG A SCOT TO JEANNE D'ARC by ANDREW LANG A VERY WOEFUL BALLADE OF THE ART CRITIC (TO E.A. ABBEY) by ANDREW LANG ALMAE MATRES (ST. ANDREWS, 1862; OXFORD, 1865) by ANDREW LANG BALLADE DEDICATORY TO MRS. ELTON OF WHITE STAUNTON by ANDREW LANG BALLADE OF CHRISTMAS GHOSTS by ANDREW LANG |
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