 | The Poetical Works of Robert Story |  |
384
IV.
Wave after wave, the surging war came on;Wave after wave dashed fiercely—and was gone!
For we were rocks, our sea-beat stance that held,
And each successive wave—unmoved—repelled.
Yet firmest rocks, that many a storm outbrave,
In lapse of time must fall before the wave;
And mortal nerves, whatever be their strength,
If pressed continuously, must fail at length.
Scarce could our arms the heavy falchion wield,
And scarce, before us, bear the heavy shield;
Yet still fresh numbers, vigorous as the first,
Against our frail and sinking barrior burst.
The trench, besides, that void erewhile had lain,
Now filled and heaped with bodies of the slain,
Supplied our foemen with a ghastly bridge,
And readier access to the earthen ridge
On which we fought. Our band, perforce, gave way,
And in they rushed with more than torrent-sway!
| The Poetical Works of Robert Story | |