<html xmlns:tei="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0"><body><h1 align="center" class="head">Oxford Revisited in War-Time</h1><div class="stanza"><p class="line"><span class="smallcaps">Beneath</span> fair Magdalen's storied towers</p><p class="line">I wander in a dream,</p><p class="line">And hear the mellow chimes float out</p><p class="line">O'er Cherwell's ice-bound stream.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Throstle and blackbird stiff with cold</p><p class="line">Hop on the frozen grass;</p><p class="line">Among the aged, upright oaks</p><p class="line">The dun deer slowly pass.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">The chapel organ rolls and swells,</p><p class="line">And voices still praise God;</p><p class="line">But ah! the thought of youthful friends</p><p class="line">Who lie beneath the sod.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Now wounded men with gallant eyes</p><p class="line">Go hobbling down the street,</p><p class="line">And nurses from the hospitals</p><p class="line">Speed by with tireless feet.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">The town is full of uniforms,</p><p class="line">And through the stormy sky,</p><p class="line">Frightening the rooks from the tallest trees,</p><p class="line">The aeroplanes roar by.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">The older faces still are here,</p><p class="line">More grave and true and kind,</p><p class="line">Ennobled by the steadfast toil</p><p class="line">Of patient heart and mind.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">And old-time friends are dearer grown</p><p class="line">To fill a double place:</p><p class="line">Unshaken faith makes glorious</p><p class="line">Each forward-looking face.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Old Oxford walls are grey and worn:</p><p class="line">She knows the truth of tears,</p><p class="line">But to-day she stands in her ancient pride</p><p class="line">Crowned with eternal years.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Gone are her sons: yet her heart is glad</p><p class="line">In the glory of their youth,</p><p class="line">For she brought them forth to live or die</p><p class="line">By freedom, justice, truth.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Cold moonlight falls on silent towers;</p><p class="line">The young ghosts walk with the old;</p><p class="line">But Oxford dreams of the dawn of May</p><p class="line">And her heart is free and bold.</p></div><p class="byline">Tertius van Dyke</p><p> Magdalen College, <br xmlns:exist="http://exist.sourceforge.net/NS/exist" xmlns:html="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"/></p></body></html> · Great War