Classic and Contemporary Poetry
RIEL, THE REBEL, by CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: He died at dawn in the land of snows Last Line: And its thousand banners flying! Alternate Author Name(s): Miller, Joaquin Subject(s): Canada; Freedom; Riel, Louis (1844-1885); Canadians; Liberty | ||||||||
He died at dawn in the land of snows; A priest at the left, a priest at the right; The doomed man praying for his pitiless foes, And each priest holding a low dim light, To pray for the soul of the dying. But Windsor Castle was far away; And Windsor Castle was never so gay With her gorgeous banners flying! The hero was hung in the windy dawn -- 'Twas splendidly done, the telegraph said; A creak of the neck, then the shoulders drawn; A heave of the breast -- and the man hung dead, And, oh! never such valiant dying! While Windsor Castle was far away With its fops and fools on that windy day, And its thousand banners flying! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LOVE THE WILD SWAN by ROBINSON JEFFERS AFTER TENNYSON by AMBROSE BIERCE QUARTET IN F MAJOR by WILLIAM MEREDITH CROSS THAT LINE by NAOMI SHIHAB NYE EMANCIPATION by ELIZABETH ALEXANDER A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS by CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER |
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