Poems of Felicia Hemans in Death's Doings/Death and the Warrior
THE WARRIOR. |
DEATH AND THE WARRIOR.
"Aye, warrior, arm! and wear thy plume
On a proud and fearless brow!
I am the lord of the lonely tomb,
And a mightier one than thou!
"Bid thy soul's love farewell, young chief!
Bid her a long farewell!
Like the morning's dew shall pass that grief—
Thou comest with me to dwell!
"Thy bark may rush through the foaming deep,
Thy steed o'er the breezy hill;
But they bear thee on to a place of sleep,
Narrow, and cold, and still!"
"Was the voice I heard thy voice, O Death?
And is thy day so near?
Then on the field shall my life's last breath
Mingle with Victory's cheer!
"Banners shall float, with the trumpet's note,
Above me as I die,
And the palm-tree wave o'er my noble grave,
Under the Syrian sky.
"High hearts shall burn in the royal hall,
When the minstrel names that spot;
And the eyes I love shall weep my fall—
Death! Death! I fear thee not."
"Warrior! thou bearest a haughty heart,
But I can bend its pride!
How shouldst thou know that thy soul will part
In the hour of Victory's tide?
"It may be far from thy steel-clad bands,
That I shall make thee mine;
It may be lone on the desert-sands,
Where men for fountains pine!
"It may be deep amidst heavy chains,
In some strong Paynim hold—
I have slow dull steps, and lingering pains,
Wherewith to tame the bold!"
"Death! Death! I go to a doom unbless'd,
If this indeed must be!
But the cross is bound upon my breast,
And I may not shrink for thee!
"Sound, clarion, sound!—for my vows are given
To the cause of the holy shrine;
I bow my soul to the will of heaven,
O Death! and not to thine!"
F. H.