Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, MY BOOKS, by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

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First Line: Sadly as some old mediaeval knight
Last Line: In which I walked, now clouded and confused.
Subject(s): Books; Reading


SADLY as some old mediaeval knight
Gazed at the arms he could no longer wield,
The sword two-handed and the shining shield
Suspended in the hall, and full in sight,
While secret longings for the lost delight
Of tourney or adventure in the field

Came over him, and tears but half concealed
Trembled and fell upon his beard of white,
So I behold these books upon their shelf,
My ornaments and arms of other days;
Not wholly useless, though no longer used,
For they remind me of my other self,
Younger and stronger, and the pleasant ways
In which I walked, now clouded and confused.





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