Classic Poem

I HAVE read of a man encompassed
By phantoms dire and grim;
In an ancient park,
As the day grew dark,
They came about his pathway dim,
And with weird eyes encompassed him.

It was the Roundhead captain,
The dreamer Harrison.
With carnal might
He strove to smite
The ghosts, that closed his blade upon
Like thin folds of a vapour dun.

In such an armageddon
Do not all mortals strive?
Our timorous wills
Create vague ills
Whereat we strike—but they survive
The many-spending blows we give.

Good friend! waste not your prowess
Against such phantom woes.
Be stout of heart,
Bring courage, and art,
Against your real sorrows:—those
Are often vanquishable foes.