MUST silence rest upon thy lyre, And will thy hand awake it never? And must the great deeps of thy soul Remain becalmed for ever? O for a midnight storm of song! The peal of arms, the blaze of glory, Like that which once aroused a world, -- Thy Grecian hero's story! O for a generous burst of song! Like that which once new splendor shed Round the "pilgrim shrine" of a poet's grave, And deified the dead! O for a mirth-born "Fanny," sent, That troubled lives, half unawares, Might take in dancing shapes of joy, And banish spectre cares! O for a lay, to crown the brave! -- Or rosy wreaths of love to twine, To ring joy's bells, or start grief's tear, If only it be thine! Be hero-bard, -- be minstrel gay, -- Thy song, if of thy soul a part, Must bear a charmed life, and live Within thy country's heart. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE OCTOROON by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE HARD TIMES IN ELFLAND; A STORY OF CHRISTMAS EVE by SIDNEY LANIER SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: JONAS KEENE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS MY SENSES DO NOT DECEIVE ME by MARIANNE MOORE |