Bards of the Future! you that come
With striding march, and roll of drum,
What will your newest challenge be
To our prose-bound community?
What magic will you find to stir
The limp and languid listener?
Will it be daring and dramatic?
Will it be frankly democratic?
Will Pegasus return again
In guise of modern aeroplane,
Descending from a cloudless blue
To drop on us a bomb or two?
I know not. Far be it from me
To darken dark futurity;
Still less to render more perplexed
The last vagary, or the next.
Leave Pindus Hill to those who list,
Iconoclast or anarchist —
So be it. "They that break shall pay."
I stand upon the ancient way.
I hold it for a certain thing,
That, blank or rhyming, song must sing;
And more, that what is good for verse,
Need not, by dint of rhyme, grow worse.
I hold that they who deal in rhyme
Must take the standpoint of the time —
But not to catch the public ear,
As mountebank or pulpiteer;
That the old notes are still the new,
If the musician's touch be true —
Nor can the hand that knows its trade
Achieve the trite and ready-made;
That your first theme is Human Life,
Its hopes and fears, its love and strife —
A theme no custom can efface,
Common, but never commonplace;
For this, beyond all doubt, is plain:
The Truth that pleased will please again,
And move men as in bygone years
When Hector's wife smiled through her tears.
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Comments
1 - 12 of 12
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Henry Austin Dobson, have no fear, poetry is still with us in all its many forms and styles. I like this poem as I believe the tradesmen of yesterday, in all fields of endeavour, worried about the future generations keeping the standards high.
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Each transition in time worries about it's future. Silent Film worried about talkies. Radio and film worried about TV. Broadcast TV worried about cable, Rock worried about Hip Hop, the poet worried about free verse and prose and about new trends. A lot of the time it is much ado about nothing, or simply a reluctance to admit progress and change. It is written by a man who obviously loved his trade and worried for its future and place in literature and society. In some ways of course it is rigid and too narrow, but I guess we all are when we attempt to defend our belief and love.
There is a pleasant, wistful tone to most of the poem, and a conviction in poetry and the poet's future. -
Not quite the kind of poem I expected to have been written so long ago. It's rallying people in the future to rekindle the spirit of poetry (not that it's ever gone out though)
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It made me wander in thought near the end, I thought it was just a few lines too long. It's very angst-filled in the emotions in which Dobson evokes towards the future poets etc., of another time and/or of his time and to represent such in the past as they have in their time/past.
It's a good piece, felt it was a few lines too long but still a good piece that Dobson has written here.
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A brilliant poem I love poems that are original and stray from the norm,it was a most interesting read.There were some lovely lines in there.
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WOW... This is an awesome poem!!! It is so cool that someone featured this!!! I love this poem!!! It makes me want to go visit oldpoetry now!!!
Beth -
I wasn't too sure that this would be received well but I'm glad it has sparked some interest.
This author is on my list of featured Old Poets (yet to come) - it's interesting how the thoughts of nearly 100 years ago are still relevant today.
Thanks for commenting and not wasting my hard-earned points Terry also bassclarinetbuddy92 and AdoptedPrincess and to anyone else who is gracious enough to make comment.
Thank You
Von
Edited on May 11, 5:03 p.m. because ''. -
I love reading poems about Poets & poetry...this one is no exception...thanks for featuring it!!! 
Wanda
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This is spectacular. For a little while I thought someone on allpoety wrote this. This is truly graeat with a great rhyme scheme and a great theme. It is true that the best theme is life.
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This is really cool... I'm used to reading really old stuff in my literature class, I don't think I've read much 18th century stuff... I like it, it's like... a rallying cry. this is sooo getting bookmarked.
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it is amazing how relevant these old writes remain, who ever featured this i thank you, it is always nice to get a dose of the past in poetic form...peace
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Hmm...it's different...I might have to read it again to understand it.
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