Classic Poem

O Beauty, Maiden Goddess, hear my cry!
I bow my being and before thee kneel;
From men and women I to thee appeal;
Give me the power to give thy foes the lie,
To set my teeth and front them and reply.
Thy virgin glory they from thee would steal:
Enraptured worship such men cannot feel;
They still preserve the utterance of the stye.

O Thou that dwellest in the ether, hear me,
And cover me with sunset as a shield:
Stand forth before me, Beauty, thou shalt clear me!
Grant me to utter what thou hast revealed;
Pour purity throughout me, — aid me, cheer me;
Then snatch me up into thine azure field.