Heart of All the World

Item

Heart of All the World

(Belgium)

Heartstruck she stands -- Our Lady of all Sorrows --
Circled with ruin, sunk in deep amaze;
Facing the shadow of her dark to-morrows,
Mourning the glory of her yesterdays.

Yet is she queen by every royal token,
There, where the storm of desolation swirled:
Crowned only with the thorn -- despoiled and broken --
Her kingdom is the heart of all the world.

She made her breast a shield, her sword a splendor,
She rose like flame upon the darkened ways;
So, through the anguish of her proud surrender
Breaks the clear vision of undying praise.

-- Marion C. Smith.

Title: Heart of All the World
Identifier: greatwar_cunliffe115

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">Heart of All the World</h1><h1 align="center" class="head">(Belgium)</h1><div class="stanza"><p class="line"><span class="smallcaps">Heartstruck</span> she stands -- Our Lady of all Sorrows --</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Circled with ruin, sunk in deep amaze;</p><p class="line">Facing the shadow of her dark to-morrows,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Mourning the glory of her yesterdays.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Yet is she queen by every royal token,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">There, where the storm of desolation swirled:</p><p class="line">Crowned only with the thorn -- despoiled and broken --</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Her kingdom is the heart of all the world.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">She made her breast a shield, her sword a splendor,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">She rose like flame upon the darkened ways;</p><p class="line">So, through the anguish of her proud surrender</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Breaks the clear vision of undying praise.</p></div><p class="byline">-- Marion C. Smith.</p></body></html>