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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SWORD CHANT OF THORSTEIN RAUDI, by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL Poem Explanation Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Tis not the grey hawk's flight Last Line: Song giver! I kiss thee. Alternate Author Name(s): Brown, Isaac | |||
'TIS not the grey hawk's flight O'er mountain and mere; 'Tis not the fleet hound's course Tracking the deer; 'Tis not the light hoof print Of black steed or grey, Though sweltering it gallop A long summer's day, Which mete forth the Lordships I challenge as mine; Ha! ha! 'tis the good brand I clutch in my strong hand, That can their broad marches And numbers define. LAND GIVER! I kiss thee. Dull builders of houses, Base tillers of earth, Gaping, ask me what lordships I owned at my birth; But the pale fools wax mute When I point with my sword East, west, north, and south, Shouting, "There am I Lord!" Wold and waste, town and tower, Hill, valley, and stream, Trembling, bow to my sway In the fierce battle fray, When the star that rules Fate, is This falchion's red gleam. MIGHTY GIVER! I kiss thee. I've heard great harps sounding, In brave bower and hall, I've drank the sweet music That bright lips let fall, I've hunted in greenwood, And heard small birds sing; But away with this idle And cold jargoning; The music I love, is The shout of the brave, The yell of the dying, The scream of the flying, When this arm weilds Death's sickle, And garners the grave. JOY GIVER! I kiss thee. Far isles of the ocean Thy lightning have known, And wide o'er the main land Thy horrors have shone. Great sword of my father, Stern joy of his hand, Thou hast carved his name deep on The stranger's red strand, And won him the glory Of undying song. Keen cleaver of gay crests, Sharp piercer of broad breasts, Grim slayer of heroes, And scourge of the strong. FAME GIVER! I kiss thee. In a love more abiding Than that the heart knows, For maiden more lovely Than summer's first rose, My heart's knit to thine, And lives but for thee; In dreamings of gladness, Thou'rt dancing with me, Brave measures of madness In some battle-field, Where armour is ringing, And noble blood springing, And cloven, yawn hemlet, Stout hauberk and shield. DEATH GIVER! I kiss thee. The smile of a maiden's eye Soon may depart; And light is the faith of Fair woman's heart; Changeful as light clouds, And wayward as wind, Be the passions that govern Weak woman's mind. But thy metal's as true As its polish is bright; When ills wax in number, Thy love will not slumber, But starlike, burns fiercer, The darker the night. HEART GLADDENER! I kiss thee. My kindred have perished By war or by wave -- Now, childless and sireless, I long for the grave. When the path of our glory Is shadowed in death, With me thou wilt slumber Below the brown heath; Thou wilt rest on my bosom, And with it decay -- While harps shall be ringing, And Scalds shall be singing The deeds we have done in Our old fearless day. SONG GIVER! I kiss thee. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE CAVALIER'S SONG by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL THE MERRY SUMMER MONTHS by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL A CAVEAT TO THE WIND by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL A MONODY by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL A NIGHT VISION by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL A SABBATH SUMMER NOON by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL A SOLEMN CONCEIT by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL CERTAIN PLEASANT VERSES TO THE LADY OF MY HEART by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL CHOICE OF DEATH by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL CLERKE RICHARD AND MAID MARGARET by WILLIAM MOTHERWELL |
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