 | Three Hundred Sonnets |  |
138
CZAR PETER.
Turn, wondrous shade of an immortal man,And give my welcome favourable heed,
While my mute soul considers each bright deed
That gems thy crown, imperial artizan,
Whose patriot labour thy rude country freed
From Scythian darkness; for to thee, great prince,
Despite a Jezebel-sister's cursèd plan
Of luring thee to pleasure's guilty ways,
Justly belongs the honourable praise
Of waking a barbarian world of slaves
To fame and power, that have not faded since:
Nobly the bronze Colossus tells thy worth,
For he that blesses, helps, improves, and saves,
Is the true hero of this strife-torn earth.
| Three Hundred Sonnets | |