Poems of Felicia Hemans in Death's Doings/Death and the Warrior

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2934074Poems of Felicia Hemans in Death's DoingsDeath and the Warrior1827Felicia Hemans




THE WARRIOR.


DEATH AND THE WARRIOR.




"Aye, warrior, arm! and wear thy plume
    On a proud and fearless brow!
I am the lord of the lonely tomb,
    And a mightier one than thou!

"Bid thy soul's love farewell, young chief!
    Bid her a long farewell!
Like the morning's dew shall pass that grief—
    Thou comest with me to dwell!

"Thy bark may rush through the foaming deep,
    Thy steed o'er the breezy hill;
But they bear thee on to a place of sleep,
    Narrow, and cold, and still!"

"Was the voice I heard thy voice, O 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?

"It may be far from thy steel-clad bands,
    That I shall make thee mine;
It may be lone on the desert-sands,
    Where men for fountains pine!

"It may be deep amidst heavy chains,
    In some strong Paynim hold—
I have slow dull steps, and lingering pains,
    Wherewith to tame the bold!"


"Death! Death! I go to a doom unbless'd,
    If this indeed must be!
But the cross is bound upon my breast,
    And I may not shrink for thee!

"Sound, clarion, sound!—for my vows are given
    To the cause of the holy shrine;
I bow my soul to the will of heaven,
    O Death! and not to thine!"

F. H.