James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902.
March 11Tasso
By Craven Langstroth Betts (18531941)(Born March 11, 1544)
L
Yet, brightest in the dungeon shone thy Muse.
Not Este, no, nor Italy, might refuse
Thy due—the poet’s wreath, the deathless name.
Thine honor lustres in thy tyrant’s shame;
The cold cell’s damps were Inspiration’s dews;
The world hath won through what thy hope did lose,
Oh, Tasso, king of hearts, and heir of fame!
Honored and blest, grew envious and ingrate;
O, knightliest bard! Rinaldo’s hero-gleam
Is thine, thrice glorified; thy proud estate,
The Lyre, the Sword, and Love—in each supreme;
Life’s splendid offering at the throne of Fate!