The Poetical Works of George Barlow In Ten [Eleven] Volumes |
 | I. |
| II. |
| III. |
 | IV. |
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| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
 | The Poetical Works of George Barlow |  |
148
II.
WRITTEN AFTER SEEING MADAME SARAH BERNHARDT, AS DOÑA SOL IN VICTOR HUGO'S “HERNANI”
I have not lived in vain, for I have heard
The voice of Doña Sol: the voice that brings
Tears to the heart and eyes, and giveth wings
Immortal and divine to every word.
O strange voice, fluting now like some soft bird,
Now full of resonant fieriest wrath that stings
And pierces, dagger-like,—how each note rings
In the soul's very depths, supremely stirred!
The voice of Doña Sol: the voice that brings
Tears to the heart and eyes, and giveth wings
Immortal and divine to every word.
O strange voice, fluting now like some soft bird,
Now full of resonant fieriest wrath that stings
And pierces, dagger-like,—how each note rings
In the soul's very depths, supremely stirred!
It is thy glory that thou hast the power
Even on Hugo's greatness to bestow
An added greatness, and from hour to hour
To hold us so completely rapt that, lo!
If sunrise round us brake in golden shower,
Or death came, we should neither care nor know.
Even on Hugo's greatness to bestow
An added greatness, and from hour to hour
To hold us so completely rapt that, lo!
If sunrise round us brake in golden shower,
Or death came, we should neither care nor know.
June 8, 1882.
| The Poetical Works of George Barlow | |