Revenge for Rheims

Item

Revenge for Rheims

Thou Permanence amid all things that pass!

Unchanging Thought amid the drift of change;

Thou Rally of the Soul in days of dross;

How art Thou fallen!

Thou Prayer, that ever-rising, yet remained,

That for seven hundred years didst sing and soar,

Spirit with wings outspread tip-toe on Earth,

How art Thou fallen!

Thou Vision frozen, and Thou Sigh transfixed;

Thou Camp of dreams, Thou Fort of faith unstormed,

Time-worn, yet wearying t'ward Eternity,

How art Thou fallen!

Thou wast to France her Inspiration old,

Thou hadst for ivy earliest memories;

From Thee her Knights, her Angels long looked down;

How art Thou fallen!

What vengeance for Thy ruin shall She hurl?

O, be that vengeance, that the ruin stand,

Only those Choirs for ever unrestored!

Ever unfallen!

-- Stephen Phillips.

Title
Revenge for Rheims
Identifier
greatwar_cunliffe096
Item sets
Poems of the Great War
Media
<html xmlns:tei="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0"><body><h1 align="center" class="head">Revenge for Rheims</h1><div class="stanza"><p class="line"><span class="smallcaps">Thou</span> Permanence amid all things that pass!</p><p class="line">Unchanging Thought amid the drift of change;</p><p class="line">Thou Rally of the Soul in days of dross;</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">How art Thou fallen!</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Thou Prayer, that ever-rising, yet remained,</p><p class="line">That for seven hundred years didst sing and soar,</p><p class="line">Spirit with wings outspread tip-toe on Earth,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">How art Thou fallen!</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Thou Vision frozen, and Thou Sigh transfixed;</p><p class="line">Thou Camp of dreams, Thou Fort of faith unstormed,</p><p class="line">Time-worn, yet wearying t'ward Eternity,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">How art Thou fallen!</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Thou wast to France her Inspiration old,</p><p class="line">Thou hadst for ivy earliest memories;</p><p class="line">From Thee her Knights, her Angels long looked down;</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">How art Thou fallen!</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">What vengeance for Thy ruin shall She hurl?</p><p class="line">O, be that vengeance, that the ruin stand,</p><p class="line">Only those Choirs for ever unrestored!</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Ever unfallen!</p></div><p class="byline">-- Stephen Phillips.</p></body></html>