---

Eugene Field - The Lyric Muse
Work rating: Low

I love the lyric muse!
For when mankind ran wild in grooves
  Came holy Orpheus with his songs
And turned men`s hearts from bestial loves,
  From brutal force and savage wrongs;
Amphion, too, and on his lyre
  Made such sweet music all the day
That rocks, instinct with warm desire,
  Pursued him in his glorious way.

  I love the lyric muse!
Hers was the wisdom that of yore
  Taught man the rights of fellow man,
Taught him to worship God the more,
  And to revere love`s holy ban.
Hers was the hand that jotted down
  The laws correcting divers wrongs;
And so came honor and renown
  To bards and to their noble songs.

  I love the lyric muse!
Old Homer sung unto the lyre;
  Tyrtaeus, too, in ancient days;
Still warmed by their immortal fire,
  How doth our patriot spirit blaze!
The oracle, when questioned, sings;
  So our first steps in life are taught.
In verse we soothe the pride of kings,
  In verse the drama has been wrought.

  I love the lyric muse!
Be not ashamed, O noble friend,
  In honest gratitude to pay
Thy homage to the gods that send
  This boon to charm all ill away.
With solemn tenderness revere
  This voiceful glory as a shrine
Wherein the quickened heart may hear
  The counsels of a voice divine!
Source
The script ran 0.001 seconds.