 | The wager and other poems |  |
22
THE PASSING OF TENNYSON
DUTY, FAITH, AND LOVE
I see a black barge, ere the night is o'er,
Come on death's mighty tide;
And one who fears not, on a lessening shore
Its coming doth abide.
Come on death's mighty tide;
And one who fears not, on a lessening shore
Its coming doth abide.
On the deck three spirits wait;
One, a queen of strength and state,
Duty, mistress of the great.
At her feet two maidens kneel—
Courage, with the ready steel,
Honour, with the stainless shield.
And her eyes are set afar
On a single argent star
Steadfast in the azure field.
One, a queen of strength and state,
Duty, mistress of the great.
At her feet two maidens kneel—
Courage, with the ready steel,
Honour, with the stainless shield.
And her eyes are set afar
On a single argent star
Steadfast in the azure field.
Faith, a spirit more sublime,
Looks across the darkened sea;
The patience of Eternity
Hath taught her soul the scorn of time,
And the splendour of her eyes
Inherits awful memories.
Looks across the darkened sea;
The patience of Eternity
Hath taught her soul the scorn of time,
And the splendour of her eyes
Inherits awful memories.
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Love, that from each sister's might
Gathers strength to feed delight,
Chants with heaven-lifted head:
“Behold our sacred dead;
This is he, a king of song;
Last of those to whom belong
That sword of light
Which, ever dull within a meaner hand,
Shines for the Knights of God a burning brand.”
Gathers strength to feed delight,
Chants with heaven-lifted head:
“Behold our sacred dead;
This is he, a king of song;
Last of those to whom belong
That sword of light
Which, ever dull within a meaner hand,
Shines for the Knights of God a burning brand.”
Rose the queenly sister's praise:
“This is he of blameless days.
Ay, this is he
Who, with increase of thought,
In lofty measures taught.
To follow me,
Devoid of mean pretence,
Were wisdom in the scorn of consequence.”
“This is he of blameless days.
Ay, this is he
Who, with increase of thought,
In lofty measures taught.
To follow me,
Devoid of mean pretence,
Were wisdom in the scorn of consequence.”
And that other sister cried:
“This is he my soul has tried.
Ever since his song began,
Through the large competence of man,
Unto life's crumbling edge,
While the faint sunset light did yet endure,
He kept my undiminished pledge
Of Faith secure.”
“This is he my soul has tried.
Ever since his song began,
Through the large competence of man,
Unto life's crumbling edge,
While the faint sunset light did yet endure,
He kept my undiminished pledge
Of Faith secure.”
Spake anew the gentler Queen:
“By his side I walked unseen
Through the wide world of men.
Again, and still again,
As one who understands,
With word-winged thought
He taught
The double love of God and man,
That since the ages ran
Doth keep in perfect touch our sister hands.
For we are they with whom his life did move,—
Duty, and Faith, and Love,—
And he for whom we wait,
The last and loneliest of the great
Who waked the infant century with their lays,
And to its waning days
Still sang elate.
O Singer, resolute and strong,
We bear thy soul to starry homes of Song.”
“By his side I walked unseen
Through the wide world of men.
Again, and still again,
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With word-winged thought
He taught
The double love of God and man,
That since the ages ran
Doth keep in perfect touch our sister hands.
For we are they with whom his life did move,—
Duty, and Faith, and Love,—
And he for whom we wait,
The last and loneliest of the great
Who waked the infant century with their lays,
And to its waning days
Still sang elate.
O Singer, resolute and strong,
We bear thy soul to starry homes of Song.”
1892.
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