Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/Amplius
Appearance
AMPLIUS
Sweet banished years of joy and youth,
Of twenty-five this is the last;
I cannot weave its fragile woof,
That day is done, that die is cast.
Of twenty-five this is the last;
I cannot weave its fragile woof,
That day is done, that die is cast.
I cannot summon childhood days
And blend them with thy coming years,
Or place its coronet of flowers
Upon a brow that smiles through tears.
And blend them with thy coming years,
Or place its coronet of flowers
Upon a brow that smiles through tears.
I cannot pierce those distant days
That ne'er have seen the tide of time
And sing a prophet's wondrous lays,
I only know a poet's rhyme.
That ne'er have seen the tide of time
And sing a prophet's wondrous lays,
I only know a poet's rhyme.
This day God gives thee something grand,
A life of action and of power,
A throbbing heart, a willing hand,
A noble art, a fleeting hour.
A life of action and of power,
A throbbing heart, a willing hand,
A noble art, a fleeting hour.
Let every year that marks thy life
Be filled with noble actions done,
Let every effort in the strife
But nerve thee for a greater one.
Be filled with noble actions done,
Let every effort in the strife
But nerve thee for a greater one.
Fight bravely onward unto death
And thou shalt yet be known of kings,
Let every heart beat, every breath,
But lift thee up to higher things;
And thou shalt yet be known of kings,
Let every heart beat, every breath,
But lift thee up to higher things;
Then when thou lay'st thine armor down,
Amid the battle's dust and heat,
Thou shalt receive a golden crown,
A scepter and a regent's seat.
Amid the battle's dust and heat,
Thou shalt receive a golden crown,
A scepter and a regent's seat.