The Side Windows: Irenaeus

From new-born Lyons oft thy memory turn'd
Unto the earlier East, and fondly yearn'd
For Polycarp and Smyrna, and the youth
Of grave Religion fair. But wakeful Truth
Within Tradition's holy citadel
Kept watch, and her stamp'd treasures guarded well,
Her Apostolic store ; thou by her light
Didst guide the bark amid the gathering night
Of heresies, and th' helm didst sternly hold,
Lifting a martyr's voice, serene and bold.
Would that again thy city of the Rhone
Might break her Roman bonds, and thee her champion own !