BEHOLD a pupil of the monkish gown, The pious ALFRED, King to Justice dear! Lord of the harp and liberating spear; Mirror of Princes! Indigent Renown Might range the starry ether for a crown Equal to 'his' deserts, who, like the year, Pours forth his bounty, like the day doth cheer, And awes like night with mercy-tempered frown. Ease from this noble miser of his time No moment steals; pain narrows not his cares. Though small his kingdom as a spark or gem, Of Alfred boasts remote Jerusalem, And Christian India, through her widespread clime, In sacred converse gifts with Alfred shares. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PISCATAQUA RIVER by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH WRITTEN ON A WALL AT WOODSTOCK by ELIZABETH I THE PRESENT CRISIS by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL THE PRAYER PERFECT by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY UNCLE ANANIAS by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE SHOEMAKERS by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER ON READING 'VORTICIST POEM ON LOVE' by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS |