Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE FIELD OF GILBOA, by WILLIAM KNOX Poet's Biography First Line: The sun of the morning looked forth from his throne Last Line: Thy flocks to decay and thy forests to wither. Subject(s): Courts & Courtiers; Jews; Marriage; Royal Court Life; Royalty; Kings; Queens; Judaism; Weddings; Husbands; Wives | ||||||||
THE sun of the morning looked forth from his throne And beamed on the face of the dead and the dying, For the yell and the strife, like the thunder, had flown, And red on Gilboa the carnage was lying. And there lay the husband that lately was prest To the beautiful cheek that was tearless and ruddy, But the claws of the eagle were fixed in his breast And the beak of the vulture was busy and bloody. And there lay the son of the widowed and sad, Who yesterday went from her dwelling forever, Now the wolf of the hills a sweet carnival had On the delicate limbs that had ceased not to quiver. And there came the daughter, a delicate child, To hold up the head that was breathless and hoary, And there came the maiden, all frantic and wild To kiss the loved lips that were gasping and gory. And there came the consort that struggled in vain To stem the red tide of a spouse that bereft her, And there came a mother that sunk 'mid the slain To weep o'er the last human stay that was left her. Oh! bloody Gilboa, a curse ever lie Where the king and his people were slaughtered together, May the dew and the rain leave thy herbage to die, Thy flocks to decay and thy forests to wither. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A BLESSING FOR A WEDDING by JANE HIRSHFIELD A SUITE FOR MARRIAGE by DAVID IGNATOW ADVICE TO HER SON ON MARRIAGE by MARY BARBER THE RABBI'S SON-IN-LAW by SABINE BARING-GOULD KISSING AGAIN by DORIANNE LAUX A TIME PAST by DENISE LEVERTOV |
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