 | A Sonnet Chronicle |  |
19
The Millenary of Alfred the King
March, 1901.
Thou “famous, warlike, and victorious king,”
Friend of the widow, orphan, and the poor,
Who shut out self and opened wide the door
To justice, temperance, peace, long-suffering:
By thee men heard the Saxon poets sing,
By thee, our England's comfort, even the boor
Learned that his life had other ills to cure
Than hardship's ache or pain that sorrows bring.
Friend of the widow, orphan, and the poor,
Who shut out self and opened wide the door
To justice, temperance, peace, long-suffering:
By thee men heard the Saxon poets sing,
By thee, our England's comfort, even the boor
Learned that his life had other ills to cure
Than hardship's ache or pain that sorrows bring.
But most, thou son of Ethelwulf, to thee
On spear-side and on spindle-side, we owe
The debt for having made a king's estate
Royal by love and pure simplicity,
Strong by sure faith and wisdom without show,
Truth-teller, Alfred, Greatest of our Great.
On spear-side and on spindle-side, we owe
The debt for having made a king's estate
Royal by love and pure simplicity,
Strong by sure faith and wisdom without show,
Truth-teller, Alfred, Greatest of our Great.
| A Sonnet Chronicle | |