I WAKE again, Teutonic Father-ages, Speak again, beloved primaeval creeds; Flash ancestral spirit from your pages, Wake the greedy age to noble deeds. II Tell us, how of old our saintly mothers Schooled themselves by vigil, fast, and prayer; Learnt to love as Jesus loved before them, While they bore the cross which poor men bear. III Tell us how our stout crusading fathers Fought and died for God, and not for gold; Let their love, their faith, their boyish daring, Distance-mellowed, gild the days of old. IV Tell us how the sexless workers, thronging, Angel-tended, round the convent doors, Wrought to Christian faith and holy order Savage hearts alike and barren moors. V Ye who built the churches where we worship, Ye who framed the laws by which we move, Fathers, long belied, and long forsaken, Oh! forgive the children of your love! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONG OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE by SIDNEY LANIER TWILIGHT by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE CUMBERLAND by HERMAN MELVILLE SING-SONG; A NURSERY RHYME BOOK: 90 by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI IN APRIL by MARGARET LEE ASHLEY ON A PIECE OF UNWROUGHT PIPECLAY by JOHN FREDERICK BRYANT A CONTRAST, BETWEEN TWO EMINENT DIVINES by JOHN BYROM |