You saw the world a golden age,
A country wench a Queen,
What is dull, wonted, formal, stale
Magnificent Has Been;
Against you, zany of world’s stage,
The man of safety wins;
But heaven shall be your own tilt-yard,
Its palaces your inns.
This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on July 11, 2026, by the Academy of American Poets.
