 | Madrigals, songs and sonnets |  |
170
XX. A MADONNA IN THE ANTWERP MUSEUM.
INSCRIBED TO J. F. B.
Through the long centuries comes faint and dim
The blast of trumpets and the brazen clang
That from the seventh Charles's bastions rang,
When France went out, armed or in merry trim;
And we forget the feats of state and war
That thrill'd the heroes of the elder age,
Taking their conquests for our heritage,
Nor grateful to the men that fought afar;
And yet our hearts are open'd when we see
(All thanks to Jehan Foucquet) through the years
Sweet Agnes Sorel of the noble heart
And the wise face, and hear all suddenly
Down the world's silence the slow-falling tears
On the grey tomb where a king mourns apart!
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