ENGLAND IN MEMORY(Sonnet)
ENGLAND IN MEMORY(Sonnet)
SweetMotherland, what have I done for thee,What suffered, what of lasting beauty made?I who ungratefully and undismayedDrank from thy breast the milk which nourished meIn childhood, which until my death must beThe life within my veins. Lo, from that shadeWherein they rest, thy dead and mine, arrayedIn honour’s robes, come clear and plaintivelyVoices for ever to my listening earWhich cry, “Not yet is finished England’s fight!Still, still must poets strive and martyrs bleedTo overthrow the enemies of Light,Armies of Dullness, Cruelty, Lust, and Greed!”Yet what have I done for thee, England dear?
SweetMotherland, what have I done for thee,What suffered, what of lasting beauty made?I who ungratefully and undismayedDrank from thy breast the milk which nourished meIn childhood, which until my death must beThe life within my veins. Lo, from that shadeWherein they rest, thy dead and mine, arrayedIn honour’s robes, come clear and plaintivelyVoices for ever to my listening earWhich cry, “Not yet is finished England’s fight!Still, still must poets strive and martyrs bleedTo overthrow the enemies of Light,Armies of Dullness, Cruelty, Lust, and Greed!”Yet what have I done for thee, England dear?
SweetMotherland, what have I done for thee,
What suffered, what of lasting beauty made?
I who ungratefully and undismayed
Drank from thy breast the milk which nourished me
In childhood, which until my death must be
The life within my veins. Lo, from that shade
Wherein they rest, thy dead and mine, arrayed
In honour’s robes, come clear and plaintively
Voices for ever to my listening ear
Which cry, “Not yet is finished England’s fight!
Still, still must poets strive and martyrs bleed
To overthrow the enemies of Light,
Armies of Dullness, Cruelty, Lust, and Greed!”
Yet what have I done for thee, England dear?