TOO soon, alas! too soon I plunged into the world with tone and clang,
And they scarcely comprehended what the Poet wildly sang.
Not the spirit-glance deep gazing into nature's inmost soul,
Not the mystic aspirations that the Poet's words unroll.
Cold and spiritless and silent—yea, with scorn received they me,
Whilst on meaner brows around me wreath'd the laurel crown I see.
And I, who in my bosom felt the godlike nature glow,
I wore the mask of folly while I sang of deepest woe.
But, courage! years may pass—this mortal frame be laid in earth,
But my spirit reign triumphant in the country of my birth!
About This Book
The collection gathers lyrical and narrative poems that blend political passion, religious reflection, and romantic and mythic storytelling. Many pieces mourn famine and social injustice, portray martyrdom and national aspiration, and offer exhortations and supplications on behalf of the homeland. Other poems translate or adapt European sagas, medieval romances, and devotional hymns, while shorter lyrics record love, loss, memory, and spiritual longing. The volume alternates rousing public verse with intimate personal pieces, moving between direct civic address, elegiac lament, narrative ballad, and contemplative lyric, unified by moral intensity and rhetorical richness.