The Poetical Works of George Barlow In Ten [Eleven] Volumes |
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 | The Poetical Works of George Barlow |  |
164
SONNET XVI
THIS CENTURY,—AND THE NEXT
This century knew Napoleon,—and it knew
Byron and Wordsworth, and its heart has heard
The vast French poet's century-equal word;
And it has seen the smoke of Waterloo.
It has seen France and Germany bestrew
The summer plains with dead. It marked the Third
Napoleon drop from empire. It has stirred
With iron keels the sea's untroubled blue.
Now, nearing its august and solemn close,
It has seen Maytime in the Phœnix Park
Shudder at a crime than which no crime more dark
Has ever stained May's hawthorn or May's rose.
It has seen Revolution's first red spark:
Will its child see the towering flame?—God knows.
| The Poetical Works of George Barlow | |