Thirty-two years since, up against the sun,
Seven shapes, thin atomies to lower sight,
Labouringly leapt and gained thy gabled height,
And four lives paid for what the seven had won.
They were the first by whom the deed was done,
And when I look at thee, my mind takes flight
To that day’s tragic feat of manly might,
As though, till then, of history thou hadst none.
Yet ages ere men topped thee, late and soon
Thou watch’dst each night the planets lift and lower;
Thou gleam’dst to Joshua’s pausing sun and moon,
And brav’dst the tokening sky when Caesar’s power
Approached its bloody end: yea, saw’st that Noon
When darkness filled the earth till the ninth hour.
(Thomas Hardy)
More Poetry from Thomas Hardy:
Thomas Hardy Poems based on Topics: Sense & Perception, History, Astronomy & Cosmology- I have lived with shades (Thomas Hardy Poems)
- A King's Soliloquy [On the Night of His Funeral] (Thomas Hardy Poems)
- I said to love (Thomas Hardy Poems)
- A Dream Or No (Thomas Hardy Poems)
- A Jog-Trot Pair (Thomas Hardy Poems)
- Between us now (Thomas Hardy Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Sense & Perception Poems, Astronomy & Cosmology Poems, History PoemsBased on Keywords: manly, leapt, approached, tragic, feat, topped, brav, gabled, dst, thirty-two, atomies