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Home  »  The Book of the Sonnet  »  William Gilmore Simms (1806–1870)

Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867.

Objects Which Influence the Ambitious Nature. III. The Triumph

William Gilmore Simms (1806–1870)

THE GRAVE but ends the struggle!—Follows then

The triumph, which, superior to the doom,

Grows loveliest, and looks best to mortal men,

Purple in beauty, towering o’er the tomb!

O, with the stoppage of the impulsive tide

That vexed the impatient heart with needful strife,

The soul that is Hope’s living leaps to life,

And shakes her fragrant plumage far and wide!

Eyes follow then in worship which but late

Frowned in defiance;—and the timorous herd

That sleekly waited for another’s word

Grow bold at last to bring—obeying Fate—

The tribute of their praise but late denied,—

Tribute of homage which is sometimes—hate!