Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Ireland: Vol. V. 1876–79. | | | | Miscellaneous | | The Three Woes | | Aubrey Thomas de Vere (1814–1902) |
| | | THAT angel whose charge is Eire sang thus, o’er the dark isle winging; | |
| By a virgin his song was heard at a tempest’s ruinous close: | |
| “Three golden ages God gave while your tender green blade was springing; | |
| Faith’s earliest harvest is reaped. To-day God sends you three Woes. | |
| |
| “For ages three without laws ye shall flee as beasts in the forest; | 5 |
| For an age and a half-age faith shall bring not peace, but a sword; | |
| Then laws shall rend you, like eagles sharp-fanged, of your scourges the sorest: | |
| When these three woes are past, look up, for your hope is restored. | |
| |
| “The times of your woe shall be twice the time of your foregone glory; | |
| But fourfold at last shall lie the grain on your granary floor.” | 10 |
| The seas in vapor shall fleet, and in ashes the mountains hoary: | |
| Let God do that which he wills. Let his servants endure and adore! | | | | |
|
|
