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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
HEROES, by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR Poet's Biography First Line: The winds that once the argo bore Last Line: And the world is a braver world to-day. Alternate Author Name(s): Dean Subject(s): American Civil War; Freedom; Heroism; United States - History; Liberty; Heroes; Heroines | |||
THE winds that once the Argo bore Have died by Neptune's ruined shrines, And her hull is the drift of the deep-sea floor, Though shaped of Pelion's tallest pines. You may seek her crew on every isle Fair in the foam of Aegean seas, But out of their rest no charm can wile Jason and Orpheus and Hercules. And Priam's wail is heard no more By windy Ilion's sea-built walls; Nor great Achilles, stained with gore, Shouts "O ye gods, 't is Hector falls!" On Ida's mount is the shining snow, But Jove has gone from its brow away; And red on the plain the poppies grow Where the Greek and the Trojan fought that day. Mother Earth, are the heroes dead? Do they thrill the soul of the years no more? Are the gleaming snows and the poppies red All that is left of the brave of yore? Are there none to fight as Theseus fought, Far in the young world's misty dawn? Or teach as gray-hatred Nestor taught? Mother Earth, are the heroes gone? Gone? In a grander form they rise. Dead? we may clasp their hands in ours, And catch the light of their clearer eyes, And wreathe their brows with immortal flowers. Wherever a noble deed is done, 'T is the pulse of a hero's heart is stirred; Wherever Right has a triumph won, There are the heroes' voices heard. Their armor rings on a fairer field Than the Greek and the Trojan fiercely trod For Freedom's sword is the blade they wield, And the gleam above is the smile of God. So, in his isle of calm delight, Jason may sleep the years away; For the heroes live, and the sky is bright, And the world is a braver world to-day. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE CONFESSION OF ST. JIM-RALPH by DENIS JOHNSON NOTES FOR AN ELEGY by WILLIAM MEREDITH THE EROTICS OF HISTORY by EAVAN BOLAND A SONG FOR HEROES by EDWIN MARKHAM AFTER THE BROKEN ARM by RON PADGETT PRELUDE; FOR GEOFFREY GORER by EDITH SITWELL EXAMINATION OF THE HERO IN A TIME OF WAR by WALLACE STEVENS COLUMBUS DYING [MAY 20, 1506] by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR SA-CA-GA-WE-A; THE INDIAN GIRL WHO GUIDED LEWIS AND CLARK by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR |
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