 | The Slave, and Other Poetical Pieces |  |
Alas for Afric! By the western flood
Long had she sat in melancholy mood.
Appall'd she listen'd to the fearful sound
Of warriors' shouts, and monsters prowling round:
With wishful look she eyed the distant main;
At hand she gaz'd on many a sandy plain,
On many a deep morass, and tangled wood,
Loud howling waste, and shapeless solitude.
She heard not Law her heav'nly descant sing:
She saw not Science plume her golden wing:
She view'd the sun, the ocean, and the sky;
Ah! wherefore view'd? unable to descry
Him, in the hollow of his ample hand
Who weigh'd the waters, and the mountains spann'd,
Bade the fair moon the brow of eve adorn,
And op'd the radiant eyelid of the morn.
Long had she sat in melancholy mood.
Appall'd she listen'd to the fearful sound
Of warriors' shouts, and monsters prowling round:
With wishful look she eyed the distant main;
12
On many a deep morass, and tangled wood,
Loud howling waste, and shapeless solitude.
She heard not Law her heav'nly descant sing:
She saw not Science plume her golden wing:
She view'd the sun, the ocean, and the sky;
Ah! wherefore view'd? unable to descry
Him, in the hollow of his ample hand
Who weigh'd the waters, and the mountains spann'd,
Bade the fair moon the brow of eve adorn,
And op'd the radiant eyelid of the morn.
What then avail'd the stamp divine imprest,
His Maker's image, on her offspring's breast?
Ah! what avail'd the spark of heav'nly flame,
The gentle spirit, and the manly frame?
What, her rich gums from fragrant groves distill'd,
With teeming herds her palmy mountains fill'd,
The ivory stores her pathless woods infold,
Ambrosial gales, and streams that flame with gold?
His Maker's image, on her offspring's breast?
Ah! what avail'd the spark of heav'nly flame,
The gentle spirit, and the manly frame?
What, her rich gums from fragrant groves distill'd,
With teeming herds her palmy mountains fill'd,
The ivory stores her pathless woods infold,
13
But tho' involv'd in gloom, and unrefin'd
The native graces of the Negro's mind,
Fair breaks its lustre on the pensive eye;
Like gleams of sunshine in an April sky,
Or flow'rs, at random thrown by nature's hand
To deck with beauty a neglected land.
The native graces of the Negro's mind,
Fair breaks its lustre on the pensive eye;
Like gleams of sunshine in an April sky,
Or flow'rs, at random thrown by nature's hand
To deck with beauty a neglected land.
If foes assail him, his the soul to dare;
Beset with torments, his the strength to bear;
And his, when hush'd the storms of danger cease,
The smile of friendship and the voice of peace.
Fierce as th' Atlantic waves, when tempests sweep;
Or placid, as the slumber of the deep:
Or like the mighty elephant, that reigns,
Mildest of beasts, in wide Kaarta's plains.
Beset with torments, his the strength to bear;
And his, when hush'd the storms of danger cease,
The smile of friendship and the voice of peace.
Fierce as th' Atlantic waves, when tempests sweep;
Or placid, as the slumber of the deep:
Or like the mighty elephant, that reigns,
Mildest of beasts, in wide Kaarta's plains.
Dear is the hut, in which his childhood play'd;
And dear the shelter of his plantain shade:
('Twas here he laid his father's bones to rest;
'Twas here he clasp'd his consort to his breast;
'Twas here, reclining on her neck, his child
Reach'd to its sire its little arms, and smil'd:)
But dear o'er all the land which gave him breath,
His joy, while living; and his hope in death.
From her and freedom torn, he pines away
In dreams by night, in frantic grief by day,
Disdaining life, and obstinate to die:
Then to lov'd scenes of transport will he fly;
Again with many a lost companion rove
The fragrant walks of Zara's orange grove;
Through Manding's wilds the antelope pursue;
Down Lagos' current guide the light canoe;
Bound to the harp in Fantyn's martial dance,
Swell the loud hymn, and poise the ebon lance;
At ease by Gambia's golden flood recline;
Or quaff on Ambris' banks the palmy wine.
And dear the shelter of his plantain shade:
('Twas here he laid his father's bones to rest;
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'Twas here, reclining on her neck, his child
Reach'd to its sire its little arms, and smil'd:)
But dear o'er all the land which gave him breath,
His joy, while living; and his hope in death.
From her and freedom torn, he pines away
In dreams by night, in frantic grief by day,
Disdaining life, and obstinate to die:
Then to lov'd scenes of transport will he fly;
Again with many a lost companion rove
The fragrant walks of Zara's orange grove;
Through Manding's wilds the antelope pursue;
Down Lagos' current guide the light canoe;
Bound to the harp in Fantyn's martial dance,
Swell the loud hymn, and poise the ebon lance;
At ease by Gambia's golden flood recline;
Or quaff on Ambris' banks the palmy wine.
Yet can he feel the sacred ties, that bind
The scatter'd brotherhood of human kind;
And when the rains descend, and whirlwinds rave,
Round Sego's walls by Niger's ample wave,
Can welcome to his hospitable door
The wand'ring stranger, shelterless and poor;
Nor heed the colour of his guest; but spread
The cocoa board, and strew the rushy bed;
Beside the couch his midnight vigil keep,
And lull with plaintive song the white man's sleep.
15
And when the rains descend, and whirlwinds rave,
Round Sego's walls by Niger's ample wave,
Can welcome to his hospitable door
The wand'ring stranger, shelterless and poor;
Nor heed the colour of his guest; but spread
The cocoa board, and strew the rushy bed;
Beside the couch his midnight vigil keep,
And lull with plaintive song the white man's sleep.
| The Slave, and Other Poetical Pieces | |