Page:Songs of the Affections.pdf/185

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DEATH AND THE WARRIOR.
177



"Was the voice I heard, thy voice, oh Death?
    And is thy day so near?
Then on the field shall my life's last breath
    Mingle with victory's cheer!

"Banners shall float, with the trumpet's note,
    Above me as I die!
And the palm-tree wave o'er my noble grave,
    Under the Syrian sky.

"High hearts shall burn in the royal hall,
    When the minstrel names that spot;
And the eyes I love shall weep my fall,—
    Death, Death! I fear thee not!"

"Warrior! thou bearest a haughty heart;
    But I can bend its pride!
How shouldst thou know that thy soul will part
    In the hour of victory's tide?

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