University of Virginia Library


223

“THIS THOUGHT”

This thought, upon the wondrous night
When all the stars lean down
To fill with jewels of great light
King Edward's royal crown;
This thought, when through the bowers of June,
O'er land and purple deep,
Beneath the sun, beneath the moon,
Large sounds of triumph leap;
This thought retain,—that sea and sun
And England's hills and flowers
Are theirs, theirs only, who hate and shun
All evil's monstrous powers;
This thought,—that he alone is crowned
For ever king and lord
Within whose conquering hands is found
A true knight's stainless sword.
Feb. 15, 1902.