Belgium

John Le Gay Brereton 1871 (Sydney) – 1933



The Blatant Beast saw meadows, made for peace,
Sunlit and gently asway, and held them light,
Till each green blade grew rigid in the night
And ruddied with a glorious morn's increase.
Thou hast suffered; nor till Freedom find release
And set for ever on the shining height
The eternal rolling banner of her might
Shall thy great gift of strife and suffering cease.

We, bred of one small island in the west,
A little shrine of Freedom, far away
We, who can bow at no strong tyrant's hest,
Bend low our heads in pride to thee to-day,
For all unknown, a smiling babe at rest,
Within thy lowly manger Freedom lay.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
78

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABBA CDBDCD
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 604
Words 114
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6

John Le Gay Brereton

John Le Gay Brereton was an Australian poet, critic and professor of English at the University of Sydney. He was the first president of the Fellowship of Australian Writers when it was formed in Sydney in 1928. more…

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    "Belgium" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/23662/belgium>.

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