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The Gods

Topics: classic

Last night, as one who hears a tragic jest,     I woke from dreams, half-laughing, half in tears;     Methought that I had journeyed in the spheres     And stood upon the Planet of the Blest!     And found thereon a folk who prayed with zest     Exceeding, and through all their painful years,     Like strong souls struggled on, mid hopes and fears;     Where dwell the gods, they said, we shall find rest.     The gods? What gods, I thought, are these who so     Inspire their worshippers with faith that flowers     Immortal, and who make them keep aglow     The flames for ever on their altar-towers?     Where dwell these gods of yours? I asked, and lo!     They pointed upward to this earth of ours!

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"Last night, as one who hears a tragic jest,..."

Victor James Daley's contribution to classic is further solidified by the brilliance found in "The Gods"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

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