Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A FESTIVAL, by CHARLES MARIE RENE LECONTE DE LISLE



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A FESTIVAL, by             Poem Explanation         Poet's Biography
First Line: Nor bloody altar, nor barbaric rite
Last Line: A cloudless sky wherethro' the songs fly up!
Subject(s): Festivals; Goddesses & Gods; Mythology; Fairs; Pageants


NOR bloody altar, nor barbaric rite
With tresses in a wreath of flowers bound,
A fair-hued maid of Ionie moves round
Over the moss as the soft strings invite.
Nor bloody altar, nor barbaric rite:
Blithe songs, blithe laughter where the flowers abound!

Nor Pan nor Satyr do the dancers heed.
A young man girt with myrtle of sweet balm
Leads on the quire whose voices waft the psalm
As Eros and the Cyprian goddess plead.
Nor Pan nor Satyr do the dancers heed:
Smooth-gliding feet, a greensward steeped in balm!

Nor storm nor wind to fill the soul with fear.
Thro' the blue sky the happy songs fly up,
And lovely children bear the brimming cup
To elders whom the green boughs over-peer.
Nor storm nor wind to fill the soul with fear:
A cloudless sky wherethro' the songs fly up!





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