Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A NATION'S POWER NOT IN ARMIES, by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH



Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A NATION'S POWER NOT IN ARMIES, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: The power of armies is a visible thing
Last Line: In every nook a lip that it may cheer.
Subject(s): Soldiers


The power of Armies is a visible thing,
Formal, and circumscribed in time and space;
But who the limits of that power shall trace
Which a brave People into light can bring
Or hide, at will, -- for freedom combating
By just revenge inflamed? No foot may chase,
No eye can follow, to a fatal place
That power, that spirit, whether on the wing
Like the strong wind, or sleeping like the wind
Within its awful caves. -- From year to year
Springs this indigenous produce far and near;
No craft this subtle element can bind,
Rising like water from the soil, to find
In every nook a lip that it may cheer.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...



Home: PoetryExplorer.net