Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE GENERAL ECLIPSE, by JOHN CLEVELAND


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE GENERAL ECLIPSE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Ladies that gild the glittering noon
Last Line: Now e'en john lilburn take 'em for't!


LADIES that gild the glittering noon,
And by reflection mend his ray,
Whose beauty makes the sprightly sun
To dance as upon Easter-day,
What are you now the Queen's away?

Courageous Eagles, who have whet
Your eyes upon majestic light,
And thence derived such martial heat
That still your looks maintain the fight,
What are you since the King's good-night?

Cavalier-buds, whom Nature teems
As a reserve for England's throne,
Spirits whose double edge redeems
The last Age and adorns your own,
What are you now the Prince is gone?

As an obstructed fountain's head
Cuts the entail off from the streams,
And brooks are disinherited,
Honour and Beauty are mere dreams
Since Charles and Mary lost their beams!

Criminal Valours, who commit
Your gallantry, whose paean brings
A psalm of mercy after it,
In this sad solstice of the King's,
Your victory hath mewed her wings!

See, how your soldier wears his cage
Of iron like the captive Turk,
And as the guerdon of his rage!
See, how your glimmering Peers do lurk,
Or at the best, work journey-work!

Thus 'tis a general eclipse,
And the whole world is al-a-mort;
Only the House of Commons trips
The stage in a triumphant sort.
Now e'en John Lilburn take 'em for't!





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