Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LESSONS OF THE PAST, by HARRY WEISS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LESSONS OF THE PAST, by                    
First Line: From mem'ry's lofty vantage ground
Last Line: Of amaranthine fame.
Subject(s): Jews; Memory; Judaism


FROM mem'ry's lofty vantage ground
Our mental gaze we shift around
O'er stretches of the past.
We see dim realms of fading glory
The trysting place of figures hoary,
Whose plaintive accents sound one story:
God's world alone doth last.

We see the trophies won in strife
That graced the triumphs of our life
Lie strewn in sad array.
Each mould'ring relic wails a strain,
The warning dirge of myriads slain
Whose echoes roll an old refrain:
All earthly must decay.

But in this threnody that saddens
A message rings that ever gladdens,
Ne'er perish soul and name,
Though strongest hopes be broken,
Yet every good word spoken
Remains sweet mem'ry's token
Of amaranthine fame.





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