The Country Town and Other Poems By the late William John Courthope ... With a Memoir by A. O. Prickard |
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TERCENTENARY OF SHAKESPEARE'S DEATH, 1916 |
 | The Country Town and Other Poems |  |
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TERCENTENARY OF SHAKESPEARE'S DEATH, 1916
‘Come the three corners of the world in arms,
And we shall shock them. Nought shall make us rue,
If England to itself do rest but true.’
King John, Act v, sc. 7.
And we shall shock them. Nought shall make us rue,
If England to itself do rest but true.’
King John, Act v, sc. 7.
Calm at the height of Danger's darkest hour,
With hearts enduring, hands outstretched to save
That civil world the foe would fain devour,
The whelming rush of barbarous hosts we brave;
And trusting to the safe, well-guarded wave,
Confront the battle. Mighty is the power
Of Freedom, Britain's heirloom, sacred dower,
By Flanders' blood secured, and Suvla's grave!
With hearts enduring, hands outstretched to save
That civil world the foe would fain devour,
The whelming rush of barbarous hosts we brave;
And trusting to the safe, well-guarded wave,
Confront the battle. Mighty is the power
Of Freedom, Britain's heirloom, sacred dower,
By Flanders' blood secured, and Suvla's grave!
But yet a stronger talisman we own,
A nobler Unity our souls confess,
Felt in each Briton's heart ev'n while unsung,
Alike in torrid air and frozen zone:
A free-born Empire's patriot consciousness,
Tuned to the music of our Shakespeare's tongue.
A nobler Unity our souls confess,
Felt in each Briton's heart ev'n while unsung,
Alike in torrid air and frozen zone:
A free-born Empire's patriot consciousness,
Tuned to the music of our Shakespeare's tongue.
| The Country Town and Other Poems | |