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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PARADISI GLORIA by THOMAS WILLIAM PARSONS

First Line: THERE IS A CITY, BUILDED BY NO HAND
Last Line: THROUGH THE BRIGHT, BUSY, AND ETERNAL DAY.
Subject(s): HEAVEN; PARADISE;
"O frate moi! ciascuna e cittadina

D' una vera citta"...

THERE is a city, builded by no hand,
And unapproachable by sea or shore,
And unassailable by any band
Of storming soldiery for evermore.

There we no longer shall divide our time
By acts or pleasures, -- doing petty things
Of work or warfare, merchandise or rhyme;
But we shall sit beside the silver springs

That flow from God's own footstool, and behold
Sages and martyrs, and those blessed few
Who loved us once and were beloved of old,
To dwell with them and walk with them anew,
In alternations of sublime repose,
Musical motion, the perpetual play
Of every faculty that Heaven bestows
Through the bright, busy, and eternal day.



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