A BALE-FIRE kindled in the night, By night a blaze, by day a cloud, With flame and smoke all England woke, -- It climbed so high, it roared so loud: While over Massachusetts' pines Uprose a white and steadfast star; And many a night it hung unwatched, -- It shone so still, it seemed so far. But Light is Fire, and Fire is Light; And mariners are glad for these, -- The torch that flares along the coast, The star that beams above the seas. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE IMPOSSIBLE INDISPENSIBILITY OF THE ARS POETICA by HAYDEN CARRUTH HOW THEY GO ON by JAMES GALVIN MEMORY by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: JACOB GODBEY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS OLD TRAILS by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 35 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING |