What reason first imposed thee, gentle name, Name that my father bore, and his sire's sire, Without reproach? we trace our stream no higher; And I, a childless man, may end the same. Perchance some shepherd on Lincolnian plains, In manners guileless as his own sweet flocks, Received thee first amid the merry mocks And arch allusions of his fellow swains. Perchance from Salem's holier fields returned, With glory gotten on the heads abhorred Of faithless Saracens, some martial lord Took @3his@1 meek title, in whose zeal he burned. Whate'er the fount whence thy beginnings came, No deed of mine shall shame thee, gentle name. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE POET (2) by ISAAC ROSENBERG STEEL MILL by LOUIS UNTERMEYER THE DEAD CHILD by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) FIRST MUSICIAN'S SONG, FR. LAODICE AND DANAE by GORDON BOTTOMLEY BELLA GORRY; THE PAZON'S STORY by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN |