The Collected Poems of Lord De Tabley [i.e. J. B. L. Warren] |
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| II. |
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| XII. | XII |
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 | The Collected Poems of Lord De Tabley |  |
20
XII
Record is nothing, and the hero great
Without it; the vitality of fame
Is more than monument or fading state
That leaves us but the echo of a name.
Without it; the vitality of fame
Is more than monument or fading state
That leaves us but the echo of a name.
Rumour, imperial mistress of the time,
Is slandered where she feigns no specious lies,
Caters no reticence of cringing rhyme,
To blow her dust-cloud full on unborn eyes—
Is slandered where she feigns no specious lies,
Caters no reticence of cringing rhyme,
To blow her dust-cloud full on unborn eyes—
The glory of the shows of gilded shields,
Wild music, fluttering blazons,—and 'tis all.
Lonely the dead men stare on battlefields,—
Can glory reach them now tho' clarions call?
Wild music, fluttering blazons,—and 'tis all.
Lonely the dead men stare on battlefields,—
Can glory reach them now tho' clarions call?
Some shadow of their onset's broken gleam
May yet outlast the pageant and the dream.
May yet outlast the pageant and the dream.
| The Collected Poems of Lord De Tabley | |