Sonnets - II. - Roman Antiquities Discovered At Bishopstone, Herefordshire

While poring Antiquarians search the ground Upturned with curious pains, the Bard, a Seer, Takes fire:——The men that have been reappear; Romans for travel girt, for business gowned; And some recline on couches, myrtle-crowned, In festal glee: why not? For fresh and clear, As if its hues were of the passing year, Dawns this time-buried pavement. From that mound Hoards may come forth of Trajans, Maximins, Shrunk into coins with all their warlike toil: Or a fierce impress issues with its foil Of tenderness—the Wolf, whose suckling Twins The unlettered ploughboy pities when he wins The casual treasure from the furrowed soil.