 | [Poems by Whittier in] A Study of Whittier's Apprenticeship as a Poet |  |
PLEAD FOR THE SLAVE
Oh Woman!—from thy happy hearth
Extend thy gentle hand to save
The poor and perishing of Earth—
The chained and stricken slave!
Oh! plead for all the sufferings of thy kind—
For the crushed body and the darkened mind!—
Extend thy gentle hand to save
The poor and perishing of Earth—
The chained and stricken slave!
Oh! plead for all the sufferings of thy kind—
For the crushed body and the darkened mind!—
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So shall the ancient Earth have not
A nobler name than thine shall be:—
The deeds by martial manhood wrought—
The lofty energies of thought—
The spell of poesy—
These are but frail and fading honors—thine
Shall Time into Eternity consign!—
A nobler name than thine shall be:—
The deeds by martial manhood wrought—
The lofty energies of thought—
The spell of poesy—
These are but frail and fading honors—thine
Shall Time into Eternity consign!—
Yea—and when thrones shall crumble down—
And human pride and grandeur fall—
The herald's line of long renown—
The mitre and the kingly crown—
Perishing glories all!
The pure devotion of thy generous heart
Shall live in Heaven of which it was a part!
And human pride and grandeur fall—
The herald's line of long renown—
The mitre and the kingly crown—
Perishing glories all!
The pure devotion of thy generous heart
Shall live in Heaven of which it was a part!
The Liberator, April 26, 1834 (From An Anti-Slavery Album)
| [Poems by Whittier in] A Study of Whittier's Apprenticeship as a Poet | |