LONDON, 1802

by: William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

      ILTON! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
      England hath need of thee: she is a fen
      Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
      Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
      Have forfeited their ancient English dower
      Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
      Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
      And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
      Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:
      Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
      Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
      So didst thou travel on life's common way,
      In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
      The lowliest duties on herself did lay.

'London, 1802' is reprinted from English Poems. Ed. Edward Chauncey Baldwin. New York: American Book Company, 1908.

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