![]() | The Poems of Richard Watson Gilder | ![]() |
ON THE LIFE-MASK OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
This bronze doth keep the very form and moldOf our great martyr's face. Yes, this is he:
That brow all wisdom, all benignity;
That human, humorous mouth; those cheeks that hold
Like some harsh landscape all the summer's gold;
That spirit fit for sorrow, as the sea
For storms to beat on; the lone agony
Those silent, patient lips too well foretold.
Yes, this is he who ruled a world of men
As might some prophet of the elder day—
Brooding above the tempest and the fray
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A power was his beyond the touch of art
Or armèd strength—his pure and mighty heart.
![]() | The Poems of Richard Watson Gilder | ![]() |