Classic Poem

Fair land of dear desire,
Where Beauty like a gleam
Has waked the hidden fire
Of what our souls would dream!

Where shining ilex glistens,
And cypress' sombre shade
Above dim fountains listens
In some forgotten glade.

Oh! land of dear desire,
Thy beauty sweeps again
My heart with sudden fire
And burns away its pain.

I dream with Perugino
On some far Umbrian hill,
Or pray with sweet St. Francis
Till this world's fret is still.

Until my soul reposes
As once, unscourged he lay,
Amid the thornless roses
Until the break of day.

Dear Saint, who was the brother
Of every living thing,
Could we to one another
Thy gracious message bring,

The world renewed, awaking,
Would shed the shattered, torn,
Grim night of its own making,
And pledge a peace reborn.

Fair land of dear desire,
Thy beauty like a gleam
Shall kindle and inspire
What all our souls would dream!