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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE LAY OF THE LEVITE, by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: There is a sound that's dear to me Last Line: Of 'clo!--old clo!' Alternate Author Name(s): Bon Gaultier (with Theodore Martin) Subject(s): Jews; Judaism | |||
THERE is a sound that's dear to me, It haunts me in my sleep; I wake, and, if I hear it not, I cannot choose but weep. Above the roaring of the wind, Above the river's flow, Methinks I hear the mystic cry Of 'Clo!--Old Clo!' The exile's song, it thrills among The dwellings of the free, Its sound is strange to English ears, But 'tis not strange to me; For it hath shook the tented field In ages long ago, And hosts have quailed before the cry Of 'Clo!--Old Clo!' O lose it not! forsake it not! And let no time efface The memory of that solemn sound, The watchword of our race; For not by dark and eagle eye The Hebrew shall you know, So well as by the plaintive cry Of 'Clo!--Old Clo!' Even now, perchance, by Jordan's banks, Or Sidon's sunny walls, Where, dial-like, to portion time, The palm-tree's shadow falls, The pilgrims, wending on their way, Will linger as they go, And listen to the distant cry Of 'Clo!--Old Clo!' | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE RABBI'S SON-IN-LAW by SABINE BARING-GOULD A LITTLE HISTORY by DAVID LEHMAN FOR I WILL CONSIDER YOUR DOG MOLLY by DAVID LEHMAN JEWISH GRAVEYARDS, ITALY by PHILIP LEVINE NATIONAL THOUGHTS by YEHUDA AMICHAI SOUNDS OF THE RESURRECTED DEAD MAN'S FOOTSTEPS (#3): 2. ANGEL ... by MARVIN BELL BOTHWELL: PART 4 by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN |
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