Prepare, prepare, the iron helm of war, Bring forth the lots, cast in the spacious orb; Th' Angel of Fate turns them with mighty hands, And casts them out upon the darken'd earth! Prepare, prepare. Prepare your hearts for Death's cold hand! prepare Your souls for flight, your bodies for the earth! Prepare your arms for glorious victory! Prepare your eyes to meet a holy God! Prepare, prepare. Whose fatal scroll is that? Methinks 'tis mine! Why sinks my heart, why faultereth my tongue? Had I three lives, I'd die in such a cause, And rise, with ghosts, over the well-fought field. Prepare, prepare. The arrows of Almighty God are drawn! Angels of Death stand in the low'ring heavens! Thousands of souls must seek the realms of light, And walk together on the clouds of heaven! Prepare, prepare. Soldiers, prepare! Our cause is Heaven's cause; Soldiers, prepare! Be worthy of our cause: Prepare to meet our fathers in the sky: Prepare, O troops, that are to fall to-day! Prepare, prepare. Alfred shall smile, and make his harp rejoice; The Norman William, and the learned Clerk, And Lion Heart, and black-brow'd Edward, with His loyal queen shall rise, and welcome us! Prepare, prepare. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A BOOK OF AIRS: SONG 6. CORRINA by THOMAS CAMPION JERUSALEM; THE EMANATION OF THE GIANT ALBION: CHAPTER 3 by WILLIAM BLAKE THE LAST OF HELEN by GORDON BOTTOMLEY THE FLOWERING TREE by ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES THE PRISONER by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING |