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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
NATIONAL PRESAGE, by JOHN KELLS INGRAM Poet's Biography
First Line: Unhappy erin, what a lot was thine!
Last Line: They know not what -- but surely something great.
Subject(s): Ireland; Irish
First Line: Unhappy erin, what a lot was thine!
Last Line: They know not what -- but surely something great.
Subject(s): Ireland; Irish
UNHAPPY Erin, what a lot was thine!
Half-conquer'd by a greedy robber band;
Ill govern'd with now lax, now ruthless hand;
Misled by zealots, wresting laws divine
To sanction every dark or mad design;
Lured by false lights of pseudo-patriot league
Through crooked paths of faction and intrigue;
And drugg'd with selfish flattery's poison'd wine.
Yet, reading all thy mournful history,
Thy children, with a mystic faith sublime,
Turn to the future, confident that Fate,
Become at last thy friend, reserves for thee,
To be thy portion in the coming time,
They know not what -- but surely something great.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
THE SIGHTSEERS by PAUL MULDOON
THE DREAM SONGS: 290 by JOHN BERRYMAN
AN IRISH HEADLAND by ROBINSON JEFFERS
THE GIANT'S RING: BALLYLESSON, NEAR BELFAST by ROBINSON JEFFERS
IRELAND; WRITTEN FOR THE ART AUTOGRAPH DURING IRISH FAMINE by SIDNEY LANIER
THE EYES ARE ALWAYS BROWN by GERALD STERN
MEMORY OF THE IRISH DEAD by JOHN KELLS INGRAM