THE Roman road runs by the wall And Roman shards and remnants lie Under the turf where dry leaves fall On leaves long dry. Bracelet and bowl, and naked bones, In Resurrection's sad amaze Staring amid long-buried stones, Take the sun's gaze. And here, with talk of times forgot, The times forgot come back renewed; Rise Roman shapes above the plot Their bones endued. I shut my lids and straightway hear A Roman voice—it is my host's; I look, and from his eyes there peer A Roman ghost's; In his hand clasp a Roman hand, In his verse hear the ancient tone Heard once in accents harsh or bland By ears now stone. Time spins back, and a wave of the past Streams through each idle sense's portal; And while long little minutes last I touch the immortal. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AT THE GRAVE OF BURNS; SEVEN YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH MY PRAYER FOR TODAY by MAUD AKERS POEM, READ THE SOLDIERS' WELCOME, FRANKLIN, NEW YORK, AUG. 5, 1865 by B. H. BARNES IN REFERENCE TO HER CHILDREN, 23 JUNE, 1659 by ANNE BRADSTREET LYNTON VERSES: 5 by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 23 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING EPIGRAM WRITTEN AT INVERARY by ROBERT BURNS |