FRANCE! I will think of thee as what thou wast, When Poictiers show'd her zeal for the true creed; Or in that age, when Holy Truth, though cast On a rank soil, yet was a thriving seed, Thy schools within, from neighbouring countries chased; E'en of thy pagan day I bear to read, Thy Martyrs sanctified the guilty host, The sons of blessed John, reared on a western coast. I dare not think of thee as what thou art Lest thoughts too deep for man should trouble me. It is not safe to place the mind and heart On brink of evil, or its flames to see, Lest they should dizzy, or some taint impart, Or to our sin a fascination be. And so in silence I will now proclaim Hate of thy present self, and scarce will sound thy name. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOMESDAY BOOK: LILLI ALM by EDGAR LEE MASTERS CROSSING THE PLAINS by CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER THE INTRODUCTION by AL-DHAHABI THE STALLION OF NIGHT by WILLIAM ROSE BENET FIVE LITTLE WANDERINGS: 4. MANHOOD by BERTON BRALEY BY THE CONEMAUGH by FLORENCE EARLE COATES |