@3Far in the golden heart of the dawn This was the Chant of Prester John@1. In a land of lily and asphodel, In a city of forty towers I dwell; Never a cursed crescent there, But a thousand crosses hung in air That through each circling season knows The scent of the paradisal rose! My palace poises upon a height Burning with beryl and chrysolite; Therein the throne of my power is set, Fashioned of jasper and of jet, In a court where flows the Fountain of Youth, -- Whose dazzling dome is the Mirror of Truth. Around my throne upon every hand Do kings and princes and bishops stand, -- Croziered bishops and sceptred kings, Enrobed in ermine with garnishings Of pale moon-silver and crusted gold. At the opal gateway manifold Knights and squires in their armor are, Each with a cross like a blazing star In his massy helmet sunken deep; And never the watchful warders sleep, Lifting ever a warrior's song, -- "Death to the Wrong! Death to the Wrong!" And when in the ranks of war I ride, No bright banner in purple pride Over the host flaunts boastfully; But mighty, marvellous crosses three, With a million facets raying light, Beacon the army on to the fight. And when the burst of our conflict-cry Sweeps and surges up to the sky, Palsy of fear foreboding woe Shakes the heart of the paynim foe; And still shall our battle-burden be, -- "Christ for the right and Victory!" @3Far in the mists of the ages gone This was the Chant of Prester John!@1 | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...INFANT SORROW, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE HOHENLINDEN by THOMAS CAMPBELL LOVE AND AGE by THOMAS LOVE PEACOCK THE OLD SWIMMIN'-HOLE by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY ONLY A YEAR' by HARRIET BEECHER STOWE TO ONE SHORTLY TO DIE by WALT WHITMAN CORSICA by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD |