Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE LISTENING SWORD (WRITTEN ON THE EVE OF THE SPANISH WAR), by ROBERT UNDERWOOD JOHNSON Poet's Biography First Line: Still on the hilt, o patience, keep thy hand! Last Line: Then, patience, not till then, loose the appointed sword. Subject(s): Spanish-american War (1898) | ||||||||
STILL on the hilt, O Patience, keep thy hand! Though in the sheath the uneasy sword may leap That waits, and, for its waiting, cannot sleep. For it doth envy Arthur's knightly brand And each fame-wreathed weapon, hero-manned, That the world's freemen in remembrance keep. Oh, how can steel be deaf when nations weep With the loud sobbing of the desolate strand! Are there who think, "The hilt hears, not the blade, Snug in its silence"? Ah, from storms upcaught Fall not too soon the lightnings of the Lord. Justice, thou God in Man, when thou hast weighed All in thy balance, show us what we ought. Then, Patience, not till then, loose the appointed sword. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE PHILIPPINE CONQUEST by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPAIN IN AMERICA by GEORGE SANTAYANA YOUNG SAMMY'S FIRST WILD OATS by GEORGE SANTAYANA WHEN THE GREAT GRAY SHIPS COME IN [AUGUST 20, 1898] by GUY WETMORE CARRYL THE CALL TO THE COLORS by ARTHUR GUITERMAN THE RUSH OF THE OREGON by ARTHUR GUITERMAN THE CHARGE AT SANTIAGO by WILLIAM HAMILTON HAYNE FOR DECORATION DAY: 1898-1899 by RUPERT HUGHES AN ENGLISH MOTHER by ROBERT UNDERWOOD JOHNSON |
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