 | The Poems of Mackenzie Bell |  |
II.—SHAKESPEARE IN LONDON.
[_]
(Composed for the Shakespeare Reading Society's Commemoration, 1907, and recited by Mr. Alexander Watson.)
Hope's golden music ringing in his ears,
To conquer London single-handed—wage
Battle with Chance—battle with strong compeers?
And now, who leaves the conflict—victory won—
Who bids farewell to London's glorious strife,
To brood by Avon-lilies that have shone
Bright in his brain through all that stress of life?
As homeward wending towards the little town
He left—how brief the time!—without a name,
What are his visions? Does he see the crown
With which the world shall crown him? Does the fame
Of Shakespeare reach him? Does the skylark sing
“Behold our Will come back—the poet-king!”?
| The Poems of Mackenzie Bell | |