WRETCHES, why tarry ye thus? Nay, flee from your houses and city, Flee to the ends of the earth from the circle embattled of Athens! Body and head are alike, nor one is stable nor other, Hands and feet wax faint, and whatso lieth between them Wasteth in darkness and gloom; for flame destroyeth the city, Flame and the fierce War-god, swift driver of Syrian horses. Many a fortress too, not thine alone, shall he shatter; Many a shrine of the gods he'll give to the flame for devouring; Sweating for fear they stand, and quaking for dread of the foeman, Running with gore are their roofs, foreseeing the stress of their sorrow; Wherefore I bid you begone! Have courage to lighten your evil. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO HIS SON, VINCENT CORBET, ON HIS THIRD BIRTHDAY by RICHARD CORBET THE IMMORTALS by ISAAC ROSENBERG ODES: BOOK 1: ODE 7. ON THE USE OF POETRY by MARK AKENSIDE VERSES, RESPECTFULLY & AFFECTIONALLY INSCRIBED TO PROFESSIONAL FRIEND by BERNARD BARTON ON THE DEATH OF EMILY BRONTE by CHARLOTTE BRONTE |