Merlin's Song

by: Ralph Waldo Emerson (Author)

from: May-day and Other Pieces by Ralph Waldo Emerson  1867

Of Merlin wise I learned a song, –
Sing it low, or sing it loud,
It is mightier than the strong,
And punishes the proud.
I sing it to the surging crowd,--
Good men it will calm and cheer,
Bad men it will chain and cage.
In the heart of the music peals a strain
Which only angels hear;
Whether it waken joy or rage,
Hushed myriads hark in vain,
Yet they who hear it shed their age,
And take their youth again.