Sonnets Round the Coast by H. D. Rawnsley |
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BAMBOROUGH CASTLE. |
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 | Sonnets Round the Coast |  |
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IX. BAMBOROUGH CASTLE.
High on its rock the ruddy castle glowed,Like some huge monster, crawled from out the seas,
The isles of Farne, Northumbria's Cyclades,
Broke the blue tide that toward the fortress flowed;
Thither his forty keels bold Ida rowed,
There Aidan bent the saintliest of knees,
And Oswald's hand, that heard the beggar's pleas
And could not taste corruption, alms bestowed.
No saints seek refuge now, no warriors come,
Thy use is gone, thou tower-encircled steep—
But like the spring of Bebban's basalt well
Thou dost renew thy strength; thy citadel
Is garrisoned with girls who learn to keep
By arts of peace the inviolable home.
| Sonnets Round the Coast | |