Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE CHILDREN OF THE PALE, by ANONYMOUS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE CHILDREN OF THE PALE, by                    
First Line: "whence comes this motley, dark-eyed, swarthy / crowd"
Last Line: Recalling ancient stories proudly told / of israel's line
Subject(s): Children;history;israel;jews; Childhood;historians;judaism


WHENCE comes this motley, dark-eyed, swarthy crowd,
Of alien children in a London street,
With laughter and with chatter shrill and loud,
And hurrying feet?

From that far land they come whose eagles look
O'er east and west. Their fathers crossed the waves
Because they would no longer tamely brook
The lot of slaves.

For generations in the gloom they dwelt
Dark as the sombre forests of the North,
Till suddenly within their hearts they felt
The call, "Come forth!"

The moss-grown walls of hoary synagogue
And school, the field of Death than Life more kind,
The jewelled tables of the Decalogue,
They left behind.

But in their hearts, as in the Holiest Place,
They bore the ark, its manna and its rod,
The lust of knowledge and the pride of race,
The awe of God.

And on their children's faces I behold
Flashes and gleams, as from some inner shrine;
Recalling ancient stories proudly told
Of Israel's line.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net