Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE HARPIST OF UR, by ELDOROUS DAYTON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE HARPIST OF UR, by                    
First Line: Unravished by the centuries, he kneels
Last Line: A sweeter music tingling from his hand.
Subject(s): Harps; Music & Musicians; Musical Instruments; Lyres


"... One body was crouched against the harp, the arm actually touching the
decayed wood of the sounding box, as if death overcame the harpist as he played
..."

Unravished by the centuries, he kneels
Before the very harp he loved so well,
As one who in an hour of sadness feels
The strong embrace of music's solemn spell.

Far down beneath the dry and shifting sands,
The silver strings throughout the years have stood,
Ever yearning for the pressure of those hands
That rest upon the dull decaying wood.

As one who fell asleep, while yet he played,
His gold and silver instrument beside,
The harper saw the bed of darkness laid
And passed away to ease a tyrant's pride;

And many others all around him rest,
The harem-women taken in their bloom,
The charioteers and men of iron crest
Interred together in one kingly tomb.

Perhaps within the cell his pale compeers
Caught something of that sad and mystic strain,
Ere fading worlds grew crystal through their tears,
And the last flight of music stopped in pain.

Death checked the tune; through aching year on year
In vain the harper's music would be sought;
And yet to us the vibrant strain is dear,
Our sweetest songs are cherished in our thought.

What matter though the harp be unattuned,
Its jewelled frame stripped bare by passing time,
The spirit of the player yet may wound
Our inner temple with a shaft of rhyme.

Harpist, awake! He mocks at our command
And in a deep and death-like slumber lies,
The touch of beauty withered from his hand,
The light of wisdom stolen from his eyes.

And yet he only sleeps beside his lyre,
A symbol which the centuries prolong,
A portent that his strain will not expire,
Since he is an eternal son of song.

The spirit that was Babylon's shall rise,
Rise once again from out the desert sand,
A greater glory lighting up his eyes,
A sweeter music tingling from his hand.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net