The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery :: :: University of Virginia Library

The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery

Collected and Revised by the Author

Montgomery, Robert (1807-1855)

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X. A LIVING SPECTACLE.

'Twas not the pomp, the banner, nor the plume,
Nor all which glorifies a Warrior's tomb,
That touch'd with superhuman power
The awful pathos of that deathless hour.
'Twas moral Grandeur! 'twas the true sublime
Of sacred Nature soaring out of time,
And drinking in from worlds which faith can see
The inspirations of eternity.

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And one such moment grasps an age of life,
With more than poetry and passion rife;
Making us feel immortal instincts rise
And claim celestial kinship with the Skies.