Poem-A-Day: Rouen, Place de la Pucelle by Maria White Lowell

Rouen, Place de la Pucelle by Maria White Lowell     Here blooms the legend, fed by Time and Chance,          Fresh as the morning, though with centuries old,  The whitest lily on the shield of France,             With heart of virgin gold.    Along the square she moved, sweet Joan of Arc,          With face more pallid than a daylit star,  Half-seen, half-doubted, while before her dark             Stretched the array of war.    Swift passed the battle-smoke of lying breath          From off her path, as if a wind had blown,  Showing no faithless King, but righteous Death             On the low wooden throne.    He would reward her: she who meekly wore          Alike the gilded mail and peasant gown,  As meekly now received one honor more,             The formless, fiery crown.    A white dove trembled up the heated air,          And in the opening zenith found its goal;  Soft as a downward feather, dropped a prayer             For each repentant soul.       Today's poem is in the public domain. About This Poem After Joan of Arc's execution, her mother led a push to reverse her conviction for heresy. On this date in 1456, the Church court assembled to address the matter posthumously acquitted her. Anthology Featuring Lowell American Women Poets of the Nineteenth Century (Rutgers University Press, 1992)                      July 7, 2013 Maria White was born on July 8, 1821, in Watertown, Massachusetts. Her husband, fellow poet James Russell Lowell, had her poems collected and published after her death in 1853. Related Poems French Kissing by Gregory Sherl Wave by David Keplinger Matriot Acts, Act I [History of Mankind] by Anne Waldman Poem-A-Day Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-A-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Browse the Poem-A-Day Archive.     Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.

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