Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ARMAND BARBES, by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Fire out of heaven, a flower of perfect fire Last Line: Thy day shall be commensurate with time. Subject(s): Fire; Heaven; Love; Soul; Paradise | ||||||||
I. FIRE out of heaven, a flower of perfect fire, That where the roots of life are had its root And where the fruits of time are brought forth fruit; A faith made flesh, a visible desire That heard the yet unbreathing years respire, And speech break forth of centuries that sit mute Beyond all feebler footprint of pursuit; That touched the highest of hope and went up higher; A heart love-wounded whereto love was law, A soul reproachless without fear or flaw. A shining spirit without shadow of shame, A memory made of all men's love and awe, Being disembodied, so thou be the same, What need, O soul, to sign thee with thy name? II. All woes of all men sat upon thy soul And all their wrongs were heavy on thy head; With all their wounds thy heart was pierced and bled. And in thy spirit as in a mourning scroll The world's huge sorrows were inscribed by roll, All theirs on earth who serve and faint for bread, All banished men's, all theirs in prison dead, Thy love had heart and sword-hand for the whole. "This was my day of glory," didst thou say, When, by the scaffold thou hadst hope to climb For thy faith's sake they brought thee respite; "Nay, I shall not die then, I have missed my day." O hero, O our help, O head sublime, Thy day shall be commensurate with time. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE END OF LIFE by PHILIP JAMES BAILEY SEVEN TWILIGHTS: 6 by CONRAD AIKEN THE BOOK OF THE DEAD MAN (#19): 2. MORE ABOUT THE DEAD MAN AND WINTER by MARVIN BELL THE WORLDS IN THIS WORLD by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR A SKELETON FOR MR. PAUL IN PARADISE; AFTER ALLAN GUISINGER by NORMAN DUBIE BEAUTY & RESTRAINT by DANIEL HALPERN HOW IT WILL HAPPEN, WHEN by DORIANNE LAUX IF THIS IS PARADISE by DORIANNE LAUX A BALLAD OF DEATH by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE |
|