Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE HOUSE OF LIFE: 61. THE SONG-THROE, by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI


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THE HOUSE OF LIFE: 61. THE SONG-THROE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: By thine own tears thy song must tears beget
Last Line: The inspir'd recoil shall pierce thy brother's heart.
Alternate Author Name(s): Rossetti, Gabriel Charles Dante
Subject(s): Creative Ability; Inspiration; Creativity


BY THINE own tears thy song must tears beget,
O Singer! Magic mirror thou hast none
Except thy manifest heart; and save thine own
Anguish or ardour, else no amulet.
Cisterned in Pride, verse is the feathery jet
Of soulless air-flung fountains; nay, more dry
Than the Dead Sea for throats that thirst and sigh,
That song o'er which no singer's lids grew wet.

The Song-god--He the Sun-god--is no slave
Of thine: thy Hunter he, who for thy soul
Fledges his shaft: to no august control
Of thy skilled hand his quivered store he gave:
But if thy lips' loud cry leap to his smart,
The inspir'd recoil shall pierce thy brother's heart.





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