 | Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious |  |
131
THE INVINCIBLE ARMADA.
They come—they come—the foemen's haughty ships,
With clang of fetters and a faith abhorred,
And thunder on their cannon's brazen lips;—
They come to waste thy shores with fire and sword.
With clang of fetters and a faith abhorred,
And thunder on their cannon's brazen lips;—
They come to waste thy shores with fire and sword.
A floating host of mighty citadels,
Onward they sail with slow majestic motion;
Invincible their name; while scarcely swells
Beneath their mighty bulk the awestruck ocean.
Onward they sail with slow majestic motion;
Invincible their name; while scarcely swells
Beneath their mighty bulk the awestruck ocean.
Each tempest holds his breath; a breeze unfolds
Their flags, half-imaged in the water's breast;
Death, slavery, and destruction in their holds,
They calmly glide; and sky and ocean rest
Their flags, half-imaged in the water's breast;
Death, slavery, and destruction in their holds,
They calmly glide; and sky and ocean rest
As for the gathering of a tempest-cloud,
To burst in ruin on thy fated shore.
England, thou must not fall!—the free, aloud,
Shall wail thy doom when thou art free no more.
To burst in ruin on thy fated shore.
England, thou must not fall!—the free, aloud,
Shall wail thy doom when thou art free no more.
132
What saved thee then? was it thy warriors, sprung
From Norman chiefs that sailed and fought of old?
Was it thy Magna Charta, bravely wrung
From kings, by men that knew their rights to hold?
From Norman chiefs that sailed and fought of old?
Was it thy Magna Charta, bravely wrung
From kings, by men that knew their rights to hold?
No! but thy God did not abandon thee
To be the prey of tyrants;—thee He cherished
To be the chosen guardian of the free;—
God, the Almighty, breathed upon the sea,
And the Armada perished
To be the prey of tyrants;—thee He cherished
To be the chosen guardian of the free;—
God, the Almighty, breathed upon the sea,
And the Armada perished
| Sonnets and Other Poems Chiefly Religious | |