Classic Poem

There is a Watcher on the walls of Time
Who waits the coming day;
From headland to blown headland spreads the flame,
And Troy is far away;
Helen has led her maidens to the tower,
Leda's sons are clay;
Hector's body lies a broken flower, —
The Watcher waits alway!

When shall it dawn, the day of perfect peace,
The King come home to rest?
The Watcher waits, the dawn is far away,
Hector is slain, and Helen's lovely breast
Flowers with the May;
Paris lies low, Achilles cannot stay:
From headland to blown headland leaps the flame, —
The Watcher waits alway!

There is a Watcher, and he will not fail;
He sees, beyond the dark,
A little light that climbs like a dim star:
His great, glad voice, oh, hark! —
" Waken, ye sleepers, Ilium is dust,
Lift up your voices, strike the hillsides dumb;
Even while ye were dreaming of the war,
The King of Peace has come!