Classic Poem

Far from all measured space, yet clear and plain
As sun at noon, " a mighty orb of song "
Illumes extremest Heaven. Beyond the throng
Of lesser stars, that rise, and wex, and wane,
The transient rulers of the fickle main,
One steadfast light gleams through the dark, and long,
And narrowing aisle of memory. How strong,
How fortified with all the numerous train
Of human truths, Great Poet of thy kind,
Wert thou, whose verse, capacious as the sea,
And various as the voices of the wind,
Swell'd with the gladness of the battle's glee —
And yet could glorify infirmity,
When Priam wept, or shame-struck Helen pined.