They wind a thousand soldiers round the king, So he may go and hear the symphony, Square squads of rhythmic lancers fashioning A boulevard of measured liberty, A ribbon two yards wide whereon the thing May prance atop a wooden steed, quite free From any heretic outside the ring Who might deprive him of his puppetry: The populace applaud the miracle, Their heads and arms, attached to hidden strings, Acclaim the venerable vehicle Precisely one of God's imaginings: The king rides like a ghost on exhibition To feed the faithful eye with superstition. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PRAYER OF A SOLDIER IN FRANCE by ALFRED JOYCE KILMER THE MOWER TO THE GLOW-WORMS by ANDREW MARVELL SONNETS FOR PICTURES: A VENETIAN PASTORAL (BY GIOGIONE) by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI MOONRISE AT SEA by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE ACHARNIANS: IN PRAISE OF THE POET by ARISTOPHANES THANKSGIVING - 1937 by JOSIE CRAIG BERRY A DREAM AND A SONG by WILLIAM STANLEY BRAITHWAITE FO'C'S'LE YARNS: 1ST SERIES. DEDICATION by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN |