The works of Lord Byron A new, revised and enlarged edition, with illustrations. Edited by Ernest Hartley Coleridge and R. E. Prothero |
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ON THE DAY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF
JERUSALEM BY TITUS. |
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 | The works of Lord Byron |  |
ON THE DAY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM BY TITUS.
I
From the last hill that looks on thy once holy dome,I beheld thee, oh Sion! when rendered to Rome:
'Twas thy last sun went down, and the flames of thy fall
Flashed back on the last glance I gave to thy wall.
II
I looked for thy temple—I looked for my home,And forgot for a moment my bondage to come;
I beheld but the death-fire that fed on thy fane,
And the fast-fettered hands that made vengeance in vain.
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III
On many an eve, the high spot whence I gazedHad reflected the last beam of day as it blazed;
While I stood on the height, and beheld the decline
Of the rays from the mountain that shone on thy shrine.
IV
And now on that mountain I stood on that day,But I marked not the twilight beam melting away;
Oh! would that the lightning had glared in its stead,
And the thunderbolt burst on the Conqueror's head!
V
But the Gods of the Pagan shall never profaneThe shrine where Jehovah disdained not to reign;
And scattered and scorned as thy people may be,
Our worship, oh Father! is only for thee.
1815.
| The works of Lord Byron | |