The Lyric Muse

I love the lyric muse!     For when mankind ran wild in grooves     Came holy Orpheus with his songs     And turned men's hearts from bestial loves,     From brutal force and savage wrongs;     Amphion, too, and on his lyre     Made such sweet music all the day     That rocks, instinct with warm desire,     Pursued him in his glorious way.     I love the lyric muse!     Hers was the wisdom that of yore     Taught man the rights of fellow man,     Taught him to worship God the more,     And to revere love's holy ban.     Hers was the hand that jotted down     The laws correcting divers wrongs;     And so came honor and renown     To bards and to their noble songs.     I love the lyric muse!     Old Homer sung unto the lyre;     Tyrtus, too, in ancient days;     Still warmed by their immortal fire,     How doth our patriot spirit blaze!     The oracle, when questioned, sings;     So our first steps in life are taught.     In verse we soothe the pride of kings,     In verse the drama has been wrought.     I love the lyric muse!     Be not ashamed, O noble friend,     In honest gratitude to pay     Thy homage to the gods that send     This boon to charm all ill away.     With solemn tenderness revere     This voiceful glory as a shrine     Wherein the quickened heart may hear     The counsels of a voice divine!