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ReadingWillow structured literacy program for Australian students
Poetry Library

— Stephen Crane

I stood upon a high place,

And saw, below, many devils

Running, leaping,

And carousing in sin.

…

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adjective

Engaged in or ready for action; characterized by energetic work, thought, or speech.

“The students were very active in class discussions, asking many thoughtful questions.”

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ASPASIA.

30 lines
Samuel Johnson·1709–1784
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EMETRIUS.Should heav'n, yet unappeas'd, refuse its aid,Disperse our hopes, and frustrate our designs,Yet shall the conscience of the great attemptDiffuse a brightness on our future days;Nor will his country's groans reproach Demetrius.But how canst thou support the woes of exile?Canst thou forget hereditary splendours,To live obscure upon a foreign coast,Content with science, innocence, and love? ASPASIA.Nor wealth, nor titles, make Aspasia's bliss.O'erwhelm'd and lost amidst the publick ruins,Unmov'd, I saw the glitt'ring trifles perish,And thought the petty dross beneath a sigh.Cheerful I follow to the rural cell;Love be my wealth, and my distinction virtue. DEMETRIUS.Submissive, and prepar'd for each event,Now let us wait the last award of heav'n,Secure of happiness from flight or conquest;Nor fear the fair and learn'd can want protection.The mighty Tuscan courts the banish'd artsTo kind Italia's hospitable shades;There shall soft leisure wing th' excursive soul,And peace, propitious, smile on fond desire;There shall despotick eloquence resumeHer ancient empire o'er the yielding heart;There poetry shall tune her sacred voice,And wake from ignorance the western world.
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