Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONNET TO THE XVIII CENTURY, by BELDEN WIGGLESWORTH


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONNET TO THE XVIII CENTURY, by                    
First Line: Our world moved on, forgetful of the past
Last Line: Against the tyrants that men were and are.
Subject(s): Past


Our world moved on, forgetful of the past,
Of all the long years past and what we owe
To them. The wheel has turned and now, at last,
We strike our balance sheet. What does it show?
The bright but futile charm of a Watteau,
A Boucher's wit, a graceful Fragonard
To us meant you, great century, and so
We failed to see our race before the bar

Of Justice, as it is once more. Aghast,
We meet our failure face to face. Below
The heavy smoke-screen of disaster, far
Flung across the years still sounds the blast
Hurled by Voltaire, the Philosophes, Rousseau,
Against the tyrants that men were and are.





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