Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LINES ADAPTED TO A FAVOURITE MILITARY AIR, by JAMES HAY BEATTIE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LINES ADAPTED TO A FAVOURITE MILITARY AIR, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Hark, hark! The drums afar
Last Line: The hero's grave.
Subject(s): War


HARK, hark! the drums afar,
And the loud clarion's angry sound,
Announce th' approaching war;
The steeds in thunder bound:
Unfurl'd the banners glare on high;
The roar of cannon rends the sky.
And rocks the ground.
And now, all around,
Fires flash, smoke whirls, and bullets fly,
"To kill or wound."

And what, though battle's doom
Suppress the youthful warrior's breath!
Could Sloth avoid the tomb!
Can Flight escape from Death!
What though, where we may sink in sleep,
O'er the Green turf no marble weep,
No scutcheon wave!
We ask not such reward:
Fair Fame and smiling Virtue guard
The hero's grave.





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