Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE HEART OF BRUCE IN MELROSE ABBEY, by FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE HEART OF BRUCE IN MELROSE ABBEY, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Heart! That didst press forward still
Last Line: Call the faith in relics vain!
Alternate Author Name(s): Browne, Felicia Dorothea
Subject(s): Melrose Monastery, Scotland; Robert I. King Of Scotland (1274-1329); Bruce, Robert; The Bruce


HEART! that didst press forward still,*
Where the trumpet's note rang shrill,
Where the knightly swords were crossing,
And the plumes like sea-foam tossing,
Leader of the charging spear,
Fiery heart! -- and liest thou here?
May this narrow spot inurn
Aught that so could beat and burn?
Heart! that lovedst the clarin's blast,
Silent is thy place at last;
Silent, -- save when early bird
Sings where once the mass was heard;
Silent -- save when breeze's moan
Comes through flowers or fretted stone;
And the wild-rose waves around thee,
And the long dark grass hath bound thee, --
Sleep'st thou, as the swain might sleep,
In his nameless valley deep?

No! brave heart! -- though cold and lone,
Kingly power is yet thine own!
Feel I not thy spirit brood
O'er the whispering solitude;
Lo! at one high thought of thee,
Fast they rise, the bold, the free,
Sweeping past thy lowly bed,
With a mute, yet stately tread;
Shedding their pale armour's light
Forth upon the breathless night,
Bending every warlike plume
In the prayer o'er saintly tomb.

Is the noble Douglas nigh,
Armed to follow thee, or die?
Now, true heart, as thou wert wont,
Pass thou to the peril's front!
Where the banner-spear is gleaming,
And the battle's red wine streaming,
Till the Paynim quail before thee,
Till the cross wave proudly o'er thee; --
Dreams! the falling of a leaf
Wins me from their splendours brief;
Dreams, yet bright ones! scorn them not,
Thou that seek'st the holy spot;
Nor, amidst its lone domain,
Call the faith in relics vain!





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