[ Found at Newstead[ A HELMET of the legion, this , That long and deep hath lain, Come back to taste the living kiss Of sun and wind again . Ah! touch it with a reverent hand, For in its burnished dome Lies here within this distant land The glory that was Rome! The tides of sixteen hundred years Have flowed , and ebbed, and flowed , And yet - I see the tossing spears Come up the Roman Road; While, high above the trumpets pealed, The eagles lift and fall, And, all unseen , the war-god's shield Floats, guardian, over all! Who marched beneath this gilded helm? Who wore this casque a - shine? A leader mighty in the realm? A soldier of the line? The proud patrician takes his rest The spearman's bones beside, And earth who knows their secret best Gives this of all their pride. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CARRION COMFORT by GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS THE TWINS by HENRY SAMBROOKE LEIGH OUT FROM BEHIND THIS MASK by WALT WHITMAN THE CANDLE by GHALIB IBN RIBAH AL-HAJJAM THE LEGEND OF ARA-COELI by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE CLINGING VINE by ANTIPATER OF SIDON |