MUST silence rest upon thy lyre, <br />And will thy hand awake it never? <br />And must the great deeps of thy soul <br />Remain becalmed for ever? <br /> <br />O for a midnight storm of song! <br />The peal of arms, the blaze of glory, <br />Like that which once aroused a world, — <br />Thy Grecian hero's story! <br /> <br />O for a generous burst of song! <br />Like that which once new splendor shed <br />Round the 'pilgrim shrine' of a poet's grave, <br />And deified the dead! <br /> <br />O for a mirth-born 'Fanny,' sent, <br />That troubled lives, half unawares, <br />Might take in dancing shapes of joy, <br />And banish spectre cares! <br /> <br />0 for a lay, to crown the brave! — <br />Or rosy wreaths of love to twine, <br />To ring joy's bells, or start grief's tear, <br />If only it be thine! <br /> <br />Be hero-bard, — be minstrel gay, — <br />Thy song, if of thy soul a part, <br />Must bear a charmèd life, and live <br />Within thy country's heart.<br /><br />Grace Greenwood<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/valentine-to-fitz-greene-halleck/
