FANNY PARNELL
1854-1882
148. After Death
Shall mine eyes behold thy glory, O my country? Shall mine eyes behold thy glory?
Or shall the darkness close around them ere the sunblaze break at last upon thy story?
When the nations ope for thee their queenly circle, as a new sweet sister hail thee,
Shall these lips be seal’d in callous death and silence, that have known but to bewail thee?
Shall the ear be deaf that only loved thy praises when all men their tribute bring thee?
Shall the mouth be clay that sang thee in thy squalor when all poets’ mouths shall sing thee?