IN Attica thy birthplace should have been, Or the Ionian Isles, or where the seas Encircle in their arms the Cyclades, So wholly Greek wast thou in thy serene And childlike joy of life, O Philhellene! Around thee would have swarmed the Attic bees; Homer had been thy friend, or Socrates, And Plato welcomed thee to his demesne. For thee old legends breathed historic breath; Thou sawest Poseidon in the purple sea, And in the sunset Jason's fleece of gold! O, what hadst thou to do with cruel Death, Who wast so full of life, or Death with thee, That thou shouldst die before thou hadst grown old! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A REPUBLIC! by EDGAR LEE MASTERS ONCE BY THE PACIFIC by ROBERT FROST THE LAST CHRYSANTHEMUM by THOMAS HARDY SONNET: 27 by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL THE REAR-GUARD by SIEGFRIED SASSOON PSALM 37. NOLI AEMULARI by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE |