The stars may dissolve, and the fountain of light
May sink into ne’er ending chaos and night,
Our mansions must fall, and earth vanish away,
But thy courage O Erin! may never decay.
See! the wide wasting ruin extends all around,
Our ancestors’ dwellings lie sunk on the ground,
Our foes ride in triumph throughout our domains,
And our mightiest heroes lie stretched on the plains.
Ah! dead is the harp which was wont to give pleasure,
Ah! sunk is our sweet country’s rapturous measure,
But the war note is waked, and the clangour of spears,
The dread yell of Sloghan yet sounds in our ears.
Ah! where are the heroes! triumphant in death,
Convulsed they recline on the blood sprinkled heath,
Or the yelling ghosts ride on the blast that sweeps by,
And ‘my countrymen! vengeance!’ incessantly cry.
OCTOBER, 1809
(Percy Bysshe Shelley)
More Poetry from Percy Bysshe Shelley:
Percy Bysshe Shelley Poems based on Topics: Light, Night, Death & Dying, War & Peace, Pleasure, Cry, Revenge & Vengeance, Heroism- Julian and Maddalo : A Conversation (Percy Bysshe Shelley Poems)
- Epipsychidion (Percy Bysshe Shelley Poems)
- The Daemon Of The World (Percy Bysshe Shelley Poems)
- Scenes From The Faust Of Goethe (Percy Bysshe Shelley Poems)
- Queen Mab: Part VII. (Percy Bysshe Shelley Poems)
- Queen Mab: Part I. (Percy Bysshe Shelley Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Light Poems, Death & Dying Poems, War & Peace Poems, Cry Poems, Pleasure Poems, Heroism Poems, Revenge & Vengeance Poems- Palestine; A Prize Poem, Recited In The Theatre, Oxford (Reginald Heber Poems)
- The Fairy Of The Fountains (Letitia Elizabeth Landon Poems)
- Essay On War (Nathaniel Bloomfield Poems)
- Stanzas In Memory Of The Author Of 'Obermann' (Matthew Arnold Poems)
- The Misanthrope Reclaimed - Act I (George W Sands Poems)