 | English Roses |  |
JEANNE D'ARC.
Whitest-souled of women standing
'Twixt the daylight and the dawn,
Crowned with glory and commanding
Worlds though long from earth withdrawn!
We, who mourn the monstrous sentence
Passed upon thy service true,
Come with free though late repentance
Here to pay the honour due.
England, as one man, before thee
Kneels to crave thy pardon now;
Sons of men who slew adore thee,
Queen and saint, with haloed brow.
'Twixt the daylight and the dawn,
Crowned with glory and commanding
Worlds though long from earth withdrawn!
We, who mourn the monstrous sentence
Passed upon thy service true,
Come with free though late repentance
Here to pay the honour due.
England, as one man, before thee
Kneels to crave thy pardon now;
Sons of men who slew adore thee,
Queen and saint, with haloed brow.
Whitest blossom, wondrous maiden,
Sphered above us in pure light;
Erst with sins and sorrows laden
For thy county, as thy right!
Surely thou wast thus anointed
Then with suffering and its brand
To redress the times disjointed,
Not for one but every land.
If our sires betrayed thee, keeping
Counsel but with bloody parts;
Let us build thy tomb, with weeping,
In the temple of all hearts.
Sphered above us in pure light;
33
For thy county, as thy right!
Surely thou wast thus anointed
Then with suffering and its brand
To redress the times disjointed,
Not for one but every land.
If our sires betrayed thee, keeping
Counsel but with bloody parts;
Let us build thy tomb, with weeping,
In the temple of all hearts.
| English Roses | |