On the Jubilee of Queen
Victoria (1887)
I.
Fifty
times the rose has flower'd and faded,
Fifty
times the golden harvest fallen,
Since
our Queen assumed the globe, the sceptre.
II.
She beloved for a kindliness
Rare in fable or history,
Queen, and Empress of India,
Crown'd so long with a diadem
Never worn by a worthier,
Now with prosperous auguries
Comes at last to the bounteous
Crowning year of her Jubilee.
III.
Nothing
of the lawless, of the despot,
Nothing
of the vulgar, or vainglorious,
All is
gracious, gentle, great and queenly.
IV.
You then joyfully, all of you,
Set the mountain aflame to-night,
Shoot your stars to the firmament,
Deck your houses, illuminate
All your towns for a festival,
And in each let a multitude
Loyal, each, to the heart of it,
One full voice of allegiance,
Hail the fair Ceremonial
Of this year of her Jubilee.
V.
Queen,
as true to womanhood as Queenhood,
Glorying
in the glories of her people,
Sorrowing
with the sorrows of the lowest!
VI.
You, that wanton in affluence,
Spare not now to be bountiful,
Call your poor to regale with you,
All the lowly, the destitute,
Make their neighborhood healthfuller,
Give your gold to the hospital,
Let the weary be comforted,
Let the needy be banqueted,
Let the maim'd in his heart rejoice
At this glad Ceremonial,
And this year of her Jubilee.
VII.
Henry's
fifty years are all in shadow,
Gray
with distance Edward's fifty summers,
Even
her Grandsire's fifty half forgotten.
VIII.
You, the Patriot Architect,
You that shape for eternity,
Raise a stately memorial,
Make it regally gorgeous,
Some Imperial Institute,
Rich in symbol, in ornament,
Which may speak to the centuries,
All the centuries after us,
Of this great Ceremonial,
And this year of her Jubilee.
IX.
Fifty
years of ever-broadening Commerce!
Fifty
years of ever-brightening Science!
Fifty
years of ever-widening Empire!
X.
You, the Mighty, the Fortunate,
You, the Lord-territorial,
You, the Lord-manufacturer,
You, the hardy, laborious,
Patient children of Albion,
You, Canadian, Indian,
Australasian, African,
All your hearts be in harmony,
All your voices in unison.
Singing, 'Hail to the glorious
Golden year of her Jubilee!'
XI.
Are there
thunders moaning in the distance?
Are there
spectres moving in the darkness?
Trust
the Hand of Light will lead her people,
Till
the thunders pass, the spectres vanish,
And the
Light is Victor, and the darkness
Dawns
into the Jubilee of the Ages.
Text source: Demeter,
and Other Poems (1889)
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