Page:Poems, Household Edition, Emerson, 1904.djvu/254

218 But fire to thaw that ruddy snow,

To break enchanted ice,

And give love's scarlet tides to flow,—

When shall that sun arise?

MERLIN'S SONG

I

Merlin wise I learned a song,—

Sing it low or sing it loud,

It is mightier than the strong,

And punishes the proud.

I sing it to the surging crowd,—

Good men it will calm and cheer,

Bad men it will chain and cage—

In the heart of the music peals a strain

Which only angels hear;

Whether it waken joy or rage

Hushed myriads hark in vain,

Yet they who hear it shed their age,

And take their youth again.

II

Hear what British Merlin sung,

Of keenest eye and truest tongue.

Say not, the chiefs who first arrive

Usurp the seats for which all strive;