English poem
My first, of high degree
by Carolyn Wells (1862–1942)
My first, of high degree, Thousands succumb to thee— In Oriental countries thou art found; Beneath thy mighty power Thy fainting victims cower, Thy greatness brings them prostrate to the ground.
Unhonored and unsung, My second was, when young, Beheaded by a tyrant’s stern decree; Her home and friends she left, Her children were bereft, Yet martyred in a worthy cause was she.
In far Afghanistan, In China and Japan, On Greenland’s ice and India’s coral strands; My whole in mighty hordes, So history records, Worship their idols in barbaric bands.
More by Carolyn Wells
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- My first, the Scriptures say, in Eden grew
- My first, though scrutinized with close inspections
- My first, untidy though thou art
- My first, when full, holds many a pound