 | Sonnets and Other Poems |  |
69
SOCIAL ORIGINS.
Think sometimes when you read a lovely layOf Tennyson or Wordsworth—this hath sprung
From germs that lived while yet our world was young.
Give your imagination leave to play,
And you will see how on a far-off day
In a rude tent a wild-eyed audience hung
On a love-tale by primal poet sung,
And with loud plaudits own'd the singer's sway.
And when you hear the organ's thunderous groan
Roll through the vast cathedral's crowded space,
Think how the early fathers of our race,
Oppress'd with fear or overwhelm'd with care,
Turn'd to unseen creations of their own
For help and hope, and bow'd the knee in prayer.
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