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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TWO TOWNS, by RALPH LINTON First Line: There was a mighty city Last Line: Your fate is in their hands. Subject(s): Crete; Greece; Homer (10th Century B.c.); Mythology - Classical; Poetry & Poets; Troy; Ulysses; Greeks; Iliad; Odyssey; Odysseus | |||
There was a mighty city Upon the isle of Crete. Its palace had a thousand rooms, The captains of its fleet Took tribute from all lands that lay About the narrow seas; The merchandise of half the world Was piled upon its quays. It stood for twice a thousand years, Then passed in night and flame -- This much the scholars' spades have shown; But no man knows its name. There was a town called Ilium, A village on a hill, Where yellow-haired barbarians came To barter wool and fill Their open boats with beads and bronze And oily skins of wine. A little place, a humble place, With nothing great or fine -- But Ilium's name is ringing still Like one clear bugle blown, And all the chiefs of Ilium Still walk beside our own. O great forgotten city, Sleep in your nameless tomb! Nor ships, nor gold, nor fighting men Could turn aside your doom. O little town of Ilium, You live among the dead Because a blind man made a song With which to win his bread. Take warning, mighty cities, And kings of splendid lands: Be good to singing beggars; Your fate is in their hands. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CALYPSO'S ISLAND by ARCHIBALD MACLEISH THE SAIL OF ULYSSES by WALLACE STEVENS ULYSSES AND THE SIREN by SAMUEL DANIEL THE OLD SHIPS by JAMES ELROY FLECKER FISH OF THE GODS by RALPH LINTON |
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