SELECT POETRY

There was a city vast and great,
The world’s imperial queen,

Whose lofty towers and palaces
On every side were seen ;

The hum of busy multitudes,
The shout of armed bands,

The song of triumph, and the clash
Of shields and glittering brands;

With every sound of revelry,
That from the banquet flows,
From out that city’s crowded streets,
In mingled discord, rose.

T looked, and, lo! that same old man,
With a visage pale and grim,

Passed through those streets, observing none,
And none observing him ;

Yet as he paced those crowded streets,
Quick hurrying to and fro,

All sounds of revelry were changed
To the bitter wails of woe.

Still on he went without a stop,
Till every sound had fled ;

And nought within those wall was heard
But the echo of his tread.

Still on he went, still on he went,
Till palace, tower, and wall,

Sank down in one unseemly mass,
And ruin covered all.