Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO DANTE IN RAVENNA: 1265-1915, by THOMAS WALSH


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TO DANTE IN RAVENNA: 1265-1915, by                    
First Line: There in thy marble of ravenna, - dust
Last Line: Dust of ravenna,—thine is scorn indeed!
Alternate Author Name(s): Gill, Roderick; Strange, Garrett
Subject(s): Dante Alighieri (1265-1321); Ravenna, Italy


THERE in thy marble of Ravenna,—Dust
Mightier than an empire's,—art thou stirred
With scorn reverberate against the herd
That with such contumely razed and thrust
Thy citadels of law, thy soul's high trust,
Down to the levels their mean hearts preferred?—
Mocking thy learning as a scheme absurd,
And striking from thy lyre but themes of lust?—

Lo, their proud vaunt!—where each is priest and king,
And each superior deems his race and creed,—
The cannon mouths their brotherhood of man!—
Thy pledge was Fatherhood; Time's sacred ring
Of rights with duties, thy concordant plan;
Dust of Ravenna,—thine is scorn indeed!





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