Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BALLADE OF YOUTH AND AGE, by WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BALLADE OF YOUTH AND AGE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Spring at her height on a morn at prime
Last Line: These are a type of the world of age.
Alternate Author Name(s): Henley, W. E.
Subject(s): Brown, Thomas Edward (1830-1897); Old Age; Youth


Spring at her height on a morn at prime,
Sails that laugh from a flying squall,
Pomp of harmony, rapture of rhyme --
Youth is the sign of them, one and all.
Winter sunsets and leaves that fall,
An empty flagon, a folded page,
A tumble-down wheel, a tattered ball --
These are the type of the world of Age.

Bells that clash in a gaudy chime,
Swords that clatter in onsets tall,
The words that ring and the fames that climb --
Youth is the sign of them, one and all.
Hymnals old in a dusty stall,
A bald, blind bird in a crazy cage,
The scene of a faded festival --
These are a type of the world of Age.

Hours that strut as the heirs of time,
Deeds whose rumour's a clarion-call,
Songs where the singers their souls sublime --
Youth is the sign of them, one and all.
A staff that rests in a nook of wall,
A reeling battle, a rusted gage,
The chant of a nearing funeral --
These are a type of the world of Age.

Envoy

Struggle and turmoil, revel and brawl --
Youth is a sign of them, one and all,
A smouldering hearth and a silent stage --
These are a type of the world of Age.





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