FOUR LETTERS
327
How had thy heart's strong throbbing shook
The eager pen, the firm right hand,
That threw upon this record quaint
These grains of glittering sand!
The eager pen, the firm right hand,
That threw upon this record quaint
These grains of glittering sand!
O irony of Time and Fate!
That saves and loses, makes and mars,
Keeps the small dust upon the scales,
And blotteth out the stars!
That saves and loses, makes and mars,
Keeps the small dust upon the scales,
And blotteth out the stars!
Kingdoms and thrones have passed away;
Conquerors have fallen, empires died,
And countless sons of men gone down
Beneath War's crimson tide.
Conquerors have fallen, empires died,
And countless sons of men gone down
Beneath War's crimson tide.
The whole wide earth has changed its face;
Nations clasp hands across the seas;
They speak, and winds and waves repeat
The mighty symphonies.
Nations clasp hands across the seas;
They speak, and winds and waves repeat
The mighty symphonies.
Mountains have bowed their haughty crests,
And opened wide their ponderous doors;
The sea hath gathered in its dead,
Love-wept on alien shores.
And opened wide their ponderous doors;
The sea hath gathered in its dead,
Love-wept on alien shores.
Proud cities, wrapped in fire and flame,
Have challenged all the slumbering land;
Yet neither Time nor Change has touched
These few bright grains of sand!
Have challenged all the slumbering land;
Yet neither Time nor Change has touched
These few bright grains of sand!
