IMPERIAL City! dowered with sovereign grace To thy renascent glory still there clings The splendid tragedy of ancient things, The regal woes of many a vanquished race; And memory's tears are cold upon thy face E'en while thy heart's returning gladness rings Loud on the sleep of thy forgotten kings, Who in thine arms sought Life's last resting-place. Thy changing kings and kingdoms pass away The gorgeous legends of a by-gone day, But thou dost still immutably remain Unbroken symbol of proud histories, Unageing priestess of old mysteries Before whose shrine the spells of Death are vain. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SINCE THOU ART GONE by HENRY VAUGHAN THE VAICES THAT BE GONE by WILLIAM BARNES POLYHYMNIA: THE YOUTH IN THE BOAT (FRAGMENT) by WILLIAM BASSE VILLANELLE by JOACHIM DU BELLAY AS MANY STARS by MATHILDE BLIND WILL O' THE WISP by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 3. THE MEANING OF IT ALL by EDWARD CARPENTER |