 | Poems |  |
THE GRECIAN CROSS.
“Et a chi ferma in contra i suoi vestigi,
Per lui del corso tuo la fama aggiunge.”—
Tasso.
Per lui del corso tuo la fama aggiunge.”—
Tasso.
From Pyle's proud brow the bright banner waves,
And Freedom her crest in Thermopylæ rears,
And silver-tinged Salamis the battlement laves,
Where the Genius of Glory the red panoply wears,
Whose sheeny effulgence, mid battle and war,
Shed a glittering halo round the patriot's path;
While cuirass and morion, from the thunderer's car,
Shot the flames of destruction o'er the dread falchion's wrath.
And Freedom her crest in Thermopylæ rears,
And silver-tinged Salamis the battlement laves,
Where the Genius of Glory the red panoply wears,
Whose sheeny effulgence, mid battle and war,
Shed a glittering halo round the patriot's path;
While cuirass and morion, from the thunderer's car,
Shot the flames of destruction o'er the dread falchion's wrath.
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The green-turbaned Emir sheaths his ataghatan,
For the crescent is hurled from the glory-crowned arch,
And dark frowning Destiny 'neath her imperial ban
Hath laid Paynim prowess in victorious march;
The minaret shivers on the proud trophied mosque,
O'er fragile Al-Sirat rings the votaries' tread
Of the prophet's dark Houris,—they leave the Kiosk
The gory symar of the Mussulmaun dead.
For the crescent is hurled from the glory-crowned arch,
And dark frowning Destiny 'neath her imperial ban
Hath laid Paynim prowess in victorious march;
The minaret shivers on the proud trophied mosque,
O'er fragile Al-Sirat rings the votaries' tread
Of the prophet's dark Houris,—they leave the Kiosk
The gory symar of the Mussulmaun dead.
O Freedom her Sparta, 'mid Thracia's drear wild,
With human-girt battlements of victory builds,
And her lone craggy mountains, in majesty piled,
Rear a monument to shades, that glory's beam gilds,
And will blazon, when pyramids, where diadems rust,
Shall scatter their fragments, and unhallowed be trod;
But the laurel-wreathed warrior from his prison will burst
O'er the death-circled field, and the blood-reeking sod.
With human-girt battlements of victory builds,
And her lone craggy mountains, in majesty piled,
Rear a monument to shades, that glory's beam gilds,
And will blazon, when pyramids, where diadems rust,
Shall scatter their fragments, and unhallowed be trod;
But the laurel-wreathed warrior from his prison will burst
O'er the death-circled field, and the blood-reeking sod.
The fierce Janizar wields his powerless brand,
And his false comboloio cons the desp'rate vizier
And in vain rings the tophaike o'er ocean and strand,
For dim is the vision when the bright banner's near;
In the harem no more dark-haired almas give zest
To the vine-crowned board of Miramolin supreme,
The usher Meuzzin cries amaun to the blest,
And red are the fires that round revelry gleam.
And his false comboloio cons the desp'rate vizier
And in vain rings the tophaike o'er ocean and strand,
For dim is the vision when the bright banner's near;
In the harem no more dark-haired almas give zest
To the vine-crowned board of Miramolin supreme,
The usher Meuzzin cries amaun to the blest,
And red are the fires that round revelry gleam.
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But fays, fauns, and dryads on Peneus play,
And age-slumb'ring Tempe awakens again
In renovate bloom, when the lyre's magic lay
Breathes the wild tones of freedom, and the conqueror's strain;
Rich Arcadia smiles, and the Cyclades spread
Their bright golden wings round the clime of renown,
And Hymettus his sweet honied treasures will shed
O'er Morea, ransomed Grecia's glory and crown.
And age-slumb'ring Tempe awakens again
In renovate bloom, when the lyre's magic lay
Breathes the wild tones of freedom, and the conqueror's strain;
Rich Arcadia smiles, and the Cyclades spread
Their bright golden wings round the clime of renown,
And Hymettus his sweet honied treasures will shed
O'er Morea, ransomed Grecia's glory and crown.
O'er the tombs of her tyrants the bright cross shall wave,
O'er the Dey's shroudless corse the armada sails,
O'er Moslem destruction the pæan of the brave
Shall be echoed by Sirocco, when it mournfully wails
Mid grandeur's drear ruins; but Astræa resumes
Her untrophied mansion, and her wand will control.
For the bright Star of Judah the long night illumes,
And the sunbeams of glory cheer the ethnical soul.
O'er the Dey's shroudless corse the armada sails,
O'er Moslem destruction the pæan of the brave
Shall be echoed by Sirocco, when it mournfully wails
Mid grandeur's drear ruins; but Astræa resumes
Her untrophied mansion, and her wand will control.
For the bright Star of Judah the long night illumes,
And the sunbeams of glory cheer the ethnical soul.
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