Friday, April 13, 2012

L: Lord Byron and Love

I'm having fun on this A to Z Blogging Challenge. Remember that I've added my own personal little challenge for all my readers. I'm leaving clues throughout the month about a secret message. The first person to discover the secret message and leave it in a comment will receive a picture book. Have fun.

Lord Byron is a famous British poet from the early 1800's considered to be one of the great Romantic poets. The poem below is such a delight for the mouth! I LOVE reading it aloud. Perfect as prep work for picture book writers, rhyming or not.
I can never get people to understand that poetry is the expression of excited passion, and that there is no such thing as a life of passion any more than a continuous earthquake, or an eternal fever. Besides, who would ever shave themselves in such a state?     - Lord Byron, in a letter to Thomas Moore, 5 July 1821
By the Rivers of Babylon We Sat Down and Wept, 1815
                                        1
                         We sat down and wept by the waters
                             Of Babel, and thought of the day
                         When our foe, in the hue of his slaughters,
                             Made Salem's high places his prey;
                         And ye, oh her desolate daughters!
                             Were scattered all weeping away.
                                        2
                         While sadly we gazed on the river
                             Which rolled on in freedom below,
                         They demanded the song; but, oh never
                             That triumph the stranger shall know!
                         May this right hand be withered for ever,
                             Ere it string our high harp for the foe!
                                        3
                         On the willow that harp is suspended,
                             Oh Salem!  its sound should be free;
                         And the hour when thy glories were
                                     ended
                             But left me that token of thee:
                         And ne'er shall its soft tones be blended
                             With the voice of the spoiler by me!

Keep on keepin' on...

4 comments:

  1. I love the bits about scenery and freedom
    I love writing poems
    KTBee
    www.photoblog20.blogspot.co.nz

    ReplyDelete
  2. Writing poems IS fun and also challenging.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can safely say, I'm nowhere near this level nor ever will be. Great poetry Christie.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Just for a bit of clarification, Catherine... you DO know I didn't write that poem, right? I'll never be that good either. I simply write in a different style.

    ReplyDelete

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