TAKE down thy stars, O God! We look not up. In vain thou hangest there thy changeless sign. We lift our eyes to power's glowing cup, Nor care if blood make strong that wizard wine, So we but drink and feel the sorcery Of conquest in our veins, of wits grown keen In strain and strife for flesh-sweet sovereignty,— The fatal thrill of kingship over men. What though the soul be from the body shrunk, And we array the temple, but no god? What though, the cup of golden greed once drunk, Our dust be laid in a dishonoured sod, While thy loud hosts proclaim the end of wars? We read no sign. O God, take down thy stars! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LINES BY CLAUDIA by EMILY JANE BRONTE TALES OF A WAYSIDE INN: THE FIRST DAY: PAUL REVERE'S RIDE [APRIL 1775] by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW INTO THE TWILIGHT by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS QUATRAIN: FAME by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH ON FILE by JOHN KENDRICK BANGS THE 'VARUNA' by GEORGE HENRY BOKER |