Burns: An Ode

Algernon Charles Swinburne

A Fire of fierce and laughing light
That clove the shuddering heart of night
Leapt earthward, and the thunder's might
        That pants and yearns
Made fitful music round its flight:
        And earth saw Burns.

The joyous lightning found its voice
And bade the heart of wrath rejoice
And scorn uplift a song to voice
        The imperial hate
That smote the God of base men's choice
        At God's own gate.

Before the shrine of dawn, wherethrough
The lark rang rapture as she flew,
It flashed and fired the darkling dew:
        And all that heard
With love or loathing hailed anew
        A new day's word.

The servants of the lord of hell,
As though their lord had blessed them, fell
Foaming at mouth for fear, so well
        They knew the lie
Wherewith they sought to scan and spell
        The unsounded sky.

And Calvin, night's prophetic bird,
Out of his home in hell was heard
Shrieking; and all the fens were stirred
        Whence plague is bred;
Can God endure the scoffer's word ?
        But God was dead.

The God they made them in despite
Of man and woman, love and light,
Strong sundawn and the starry night,
        The lie supreme,
Shot through with song, stood forth to sight
        A devil's dream.

And he that bent the lyric bow
And laid the lord of darkness low
And bade the fire of laughter glow
        Across his grave,
And bade the tides above it flow,
        Wave hurtling wave,

Shall he not win from latter days
More than his own could yield of praise?
Ay, could the sovereign singer's bays
        Forsake his brow,
The warrior's, won on stormier ways,
        Still clasp it now.

He loved, and sang of love: he laughed,
And bade the cup whereout he quaffed
Shine as a planet, fore and aft,
        And left and right,
And keen as shoots the sun's first shaft
        Against the night.

But love and wine were moon and sun
For many a fame long since undone,
And sorrow and joy have lost and won
        By stormy turns
As many a singer's soul, if none
        More bright than Burns.

And sweeter far in grief or mirth
Have songs as glad and sad of birth
Found voice to speak of wealth or dearth
        In joy of life:
But never song took fire from earth
        More strong for strife.

The daisy by his ploughshare cleft,
The lips of women loved and left,
The griefs and joys that weave the weft
        Of human time,
With craftsman's cunning, keen and deft,
        He carved in rhyme.

But Chaucer's daisy shines a star
Above his ploughshare's reach to mar,
And mightier vision gave Dunbar
        More strenuous wing
To hear around all sins that are
        Hell dance and sing.

And when such pride and power of trust
In song's high gift to arouse from dust
Death, and transfigure love or lust
        Through smiles or tears
In golden speech that takes no rust
        From cankering years,

As never spake but once in one
Strong star-crossed child of earth and sun,
Villon, made music such as none
        May praise or blame,
A crown of starrier flower was won
        Than Burns may claim.

But never, since bright earth was born
In rapture of the enkindling morn,
Might godlike wrath and sunlike scorn
        That was and is
And shall be while false weeds are worn
        Find word like his.

Above the rude and radiant earth
That heaves and glows from firth to firth
In vale and mountain, bright in dearth
        And warm in wealth,
Which gave his fiery glory birth
        By chance and stealth,

Above the storms of praise and blame
That blur with mist his lustrous name,
His thunderous laughter went and came,
        And lives and flies;
The roar that follows on the flame
        When lightning dies.

Earth, and the snow-dimmed heights of air,
And water winding soft and fair
Through still sweet places, bright and bare,
        By bent and byre,
Taught him what hearts within them were:
        But his was fire.

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