Carolina QuotesThine eye was on the censer, And not the hand that bore it.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Connected to the Carolinas
Source
"Lines by a Clerk", Poems (1836)
- year
- 1836
Cite this record
“Thine eye was on the censer, And not the hand that bore it.” Oliver Wendell Holmes. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-54B591F31D. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/54b591f31d
More from Oliver Wendell Holmes
Ay, tear her tattered ensign down! Long has it waved on high; And many an eye has danced to see That banner in the sky; Beneath it rung the battle shout, And burst the cannon's roar; The meteor of the ocean air Shall sweep the clouds no more.Her deck once red with heroes' blood Where knelt the vanquished foe; When winds were hurrying o'er the flood, And waves were white below; No more shall feel the victor's tread, Or know the conquered knee; The harpies of the shore shall pluck The eagle of the sea! Oh, better that her shattered bulk Should sink beneath the wave; Her thunders shook the mighty deep, And there should be her grave; Nail to the mast her holy flag, Set every threadbare sail And give her to the god of storms, The lightning and the gale!
And since, I never dare to write As funny as I can.
Where go the poet's lines? Answer, ye evening tapers! Ye auburn locks, ye golden curls, Speak from your folded papers!