Classic and Contemporary Poetry
OXFORD REVISITED IN WAR TIME, by TERTIUS VAN DYKE First Line: Beneath fair magdalen's storied towers Last Line: And her heart is free and bold. Subject(s): Oxford University; World War I; First World War | ||||||||
BENEATH fair Magdalen's storied towers I wander in a dream, And hear the mellow chimes float out O'er Cherwell's ice-bound stream. Throstle and blackbird stiff with cold Hop on the frozen grass; Among the aged, upright oaks The dun deer slowly pass. The chapel organ rolls and swells, And voices still praise God; But ah! the thought of youthful friends Who lie beneath the sod. Now wounded men with gallant eyes Go hobbling down the street, And nurses from the hospitals Speed by with tireless feet. The town is full of uniforms, And through the stormy sky, Frightening the rooks from the tallest trees, The aeroplanes roar by. The older faces still are here, More grave and true and kind, Ennobled by the steadfast toil Of patient heart and mind. And old-time friends are dearer grown To fill a double place: Unshaken faith makes glorious Each forward-looking face. Old Oxford walls are grey and worn: She knows the truth of tears, But to-day she stands in her ancient pride Crowned with eternal years. Gone are her sons: yet her heart is glad In the glory of their youth, For she brought them forth to live or die By freedom, justice, truth. Cold moonlight falls on silent towers; The young ghosts walk with the old; But Oxford dreams of the dawn of May And her heart is free and bold. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...D'ANNUNZIO by ERNEST HEMINGWAY 1915: THE TRENCHES by CONRAD AIKEN TO OUR PRESIDENT by KATHARINE LEE BATES THE HORSES by KATHARINE LEE BATES CHILDREN OF THE WAR by KATHARINE LEE BATES THE U-BOAT CREWS by KATHARINE LEE BATES THE RED CROSS NURSE by KATHARINE LEE BATES WAR PROFITS by KATHARINE LEE BATES THE UNCHANGEABLE by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN LOVE OF LIFE by TERTIUS VAN DYKE |
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