THE Lord hath set me o'er the kings of earth, To fasten and uproot, to build and mar; Not by mine own fond will: else never war Had still'd in Anathoth the voice of mirth, Nor from my native tribe swept bower and hearth; Ne'er had the light of Judah's royal star Fail'd in mid heaven, nor trampling steed and car Ceas'd from the courts that saw Josiah's birth. "'Tis not in me to give or take away, But He who guides the thunder-peals on high, He tunes my voice, the tones of His deep sway Faintly to echo in the nether sky. Therefore I bid earth's glories set or shine, And it is so; my words are sacraments divine." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...APPRECIATION by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH LOVE'S SECRET, FR. SONGS OF EXPERIENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE REMEMBERING NAT TURNER by STERLING ALLEN BROWN THIRD BOOK OF AIRS: SONG 23 by THOMAS CAMPION THE SPARROW by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR MAY MORNING by CELIA LEIGHTON THAXTER LEE TO THE REAR [MAY 12, 1864] by JOHN REUBEN THOMPSON HINC LACHRIMAE; OR THE AUTHOR TO AURORA: 20 by WILLIAM BOSWORTH |