I WISH to tune my quivering lyre To deeds of fame and notes of fire; To echo, from its rising swell, How heroes fought and nations fell, When Atreus' sons advanced to war, Or Tyrian Cadmus roved afar; But still, to martial strains unknown, My lyre recurs to love alone. Fired with the hope of future fame, I seek some nobler hero's name; The dying chords are strung anew, To war, to war, my harp is due. With glowing strings, the epic strain To Jove's great son I raise again; Alcides and his glorious deeds, Beneath whose arm the Hydra bleeds. All, all in vain; my wayward lyre Wakes silver notes of soft desire. Adieu ye chiefs renown'd in arms! Adieu the clang of war's alarms! To other deeds my soul is strung, And sweeter notes shall now be sung; My harp shall all its powers reveal, To tell the tale my heart must feel; Love, Love alone, my lyre shall claim, In songs of bliss and sighs of flame. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...STUDY FOR A GEOGRAPHICAL TRAIL; 2. ILLINOIS by CLARENCE MAJOR THE BLOSSOM, FR. SONGS OF INNOCENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE A MAN'S REQUIREMENTS by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE FLIGHT OF THE GEESE by CHARLES GEORGE DOUGLAS ROBERTS AS THE NEW YEAR [18 B.C.] DAWNED by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS THE DREAM THAT CRACKED A WHIP by FRANCES AIRTH EMBLEMS OF LOVE: 5. BY LITTLE AND LITTLE by PHILIP AYRES |