Page:Songs of the Affections.pdf/186

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"It may be far from thy steel-clad bands,   That I shall make thee mine; It may be lone on the desert sands,    Where men for fountains pine!

"It may be deep amidst heavy chains,   In some strong Paynim hold;— I have slow dull steps and lingering pains,    Wherewith to tame the bold!"

"Death, Death! I go to a doom unblest,   If this indeed must be; But the cross is bound upon my breast,    And I may not shrink for thee!

"Sound, clarion, sound!—for my vows are given   To the cause of the holy shrine; I bow my soul to the will of Heaven,    O Death!—and not to thine!"