Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, HELEN - OLD, by ISABEL ECCLESTONE MACKAY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

HELEN - OLD, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Great lady, were you helen long ago?
Last Line: In troy. ...I know. ...Cease, child—you trouble me!
Subject(s): Old Age


Child:
GREAT lady, were you Helen long ago?
And were you beautiful as all men say?
Helen:
Yea, child, my name was Helen. ...I think so...
Helen?. ...I thought of her but yesterday.
Child:
There was a song of Helen. ..."World's Delight,"
It names her "Heaven Fair" and "Rose Divine."
Helen:
A song?. ...'Tis true one sang to me by night
Of Helen's eyes—what color, child, are mine?
Child:
No color, lady. Tell me of that host,
So splendid brave, who fought before Troy's town.
Helen:
A host of shadows, child. ...ghost locked with ghost. ...
Blows falling light as sea-mist drifting down. ...
Child:
Tell of that day which saw great Hector die,
Dragged in the dust beneath the echoing gate!
Helen:
Hector!...was that his name? I often try
To fit the names. ...they slip and change of late. ...
Child:
But, lady, you were Helen. ...tell but one
Of those famed battles joined to make you free!
Helen:
All battles are the same when they are done. ...
But Helen, once saw moonlight on the sea. ...
Child:
Then tell me of the happy vows you paid
When you returned—the crowds, the pageantry!
Helen:
Returned, you say?...Returned? But Helen stayed
In Troy. ...I know. ...Cease, Child—you trouble me!





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