Like the bright lamp, that shone in Kildare's holy fane, <br />And burn'd through long ages of darkness and storm, <br />Is the heart that sorrows have frown'd on in vain, <br />Whose spirit outlives them, unfading and warm. <br />Erin, oh Erin, thus bright through the tears <br />Of a long night of bondage, thy spirit appears. <br /> <br />The nations have fallen, and thou still art young, <br />Thy sun is but rising, when others are set; <br />And though slavery's cloud o'er thy morning hath hung, <br />The full noon of freedom shall beam round thee yet. <br />Erin, oh Erin, though long in the shade, <br />Thy star will shine out when the proudest shall fade. <br /> <br />Unchill'd by the rain, and unwaked by the wind, <br />The lily lies sleeping through winter's cold hour, <br />Till Spring's light touch her fetters unbind, <br />And daylight and liberty bless the young flower. <br />Thus Erin, oh Erin, thy winter is past, <br />And the hope that lived through it shall blossom at last.<br /><br />Thomas Moore<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/erin-oh-erin/
