Devotion! When thy name is named,
What matchless visions rise!
The Hebrew, leaving Pharoah’s house,
To Israel’s rescue flies;
The Moabitess, gleans, content,
Beneath the burning skies.
The flower of Christendom is given
To gain the Holy Grave;
O’er Acre and o’er Askelon
The blessed banners wave;
By Edward’s bed I see thee kneel,
O Queen beloved and brave!
Who art thou, girl, in warrior garb-
St. Catherine’s sword in hand?
‘Tis La Pucelle-and France is free;
O shame that thou must stand
Bound-helpless-at the cruel stake,
To wait the headman’s brand!
And now upon the wild North Sea
From Lindisfarne’s bleak shore,
To save the lives of shipwrecked men
A maiden plies the oar;
Seamen and landsmen honour thee,
Grace Darling, evermore!
And swifter, closer, as I muse,
The splendid spectres loom;
And stately stands among them one
To glory passed from gloom-
But late,-by waters of the Nile,-
In walls of lost Khartoum!
(Mary Hannay Foott)
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Based on Topics: Name Poems, Flowers Poems, Courage Poems, Romantic Love PoemsBased on Keywords: gleans, pharoah, headman, khartoum, askelon, moabitess