Phoenix

O Notre Dame, your heart in ashes lies— A thousand years of history aflame! Yet we shall see you like the phoenix rise. Your simple wooden structure, a disguise For centuries of faith, won wide acclaim— O Notre Dame, your heart in ashes lies! And more than merest ancientry, we prize The deep belief contained within that frame-- Yet we shall see you like the phoenix rise! Now, with the smoke that heaven-headed flies, Your very timbers fires consume and maim-- O Notre Dame, your heart in ashes lies. And though my grieving heart shed tears and sighs At seeing ruination of such fame, Yet we shall see you like the phoenix rise. “Millennia may come and go,” she cries, “But nothing I have met I could not tame!” O Notre Dame! Your heart in ashes lies, Yet we shall see you like the phoenix rise!