HERE, murdered by the frenzied, not the free, Lies the last monarch of a star-crossed line; Anointed Emperor by right divine: From Arctic icefields to the Aral sea, From Warsaw to the walls of Tartary. His country's travail claimed a high design; Too stubborn to respond, he shrank supine Before the large demand of destiny. Bereft of crown, and throne, and hearth, and name, Grief lent him majesty, and suffering Gave him a more than royal diadem. His people kissed the desecrated hem Of robes not now of splendour but of shame, And waited for the rising of the King. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE INCOGNITA OF RAPHAEL by WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLER THE FIRST SNOWFALL by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL THE EAGLE'S SONG by RICHARD MANSFIELD THE HAYSTACK IN THE FLOODS by WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) LATAKIA by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH SONG, FR. A VISION OF GIORGIONE: GEMMA'S SONG ON THE WAY by GORDON BOTTOMLEY |