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 | Leaves of grass. |  |
8
17 I see the European
headsman;
He stands mask'd, clothed in red, with huge legs, and strong naked arms,
And leans on a ponderous axe.
18 Whom have you slaughter'd lately, European heads- man?
Whose is that blood upon you, so wet and sticky?
19 I see the clear sunsets of the martyrs;
I see from the scaffolds the descending ghosts,
Ghosts of dead lords, uncrown'd ladies, impeach'd ministers, rejected kings,
Rivals, traitors, poisoners, disgraced chieftains, and the rest.
20 I see those who in any
land have died for the
good cause;
The seed is spare, nevertheless the crop shall never run out;
(Mind you, O foreign kings, O priests, the crop shall never run out.)
21 I see the blood wash'd entirely away from the axe;
Both blade and helve are clean;
They spirt no more the blood of European nobles — they clasp no more the necks of queens.
22 I see the headsman withdraw and become useless;
I see the scaffold untrodden and mouldy — I see no longer any axe upon it;
I see the mighty and friendly emblem of the power of my own race — the newest, largest race.
He stands mask'd, clothed in red, with huge legs, and strong naked arms,
And leans on a ponderous axe.
18 Whom have you slaughter'd lately, European heads- man?
Whose is that blood upon you, so wet and sticky?
19 I see the clear sunsets of the martyrs;
I see from the scaffolds the descending ghosts,
Ghosts of dead lords, uncrown'd ladies, impeach'd ministers, rejected kings,
Rivals, traitors, poisoners, disgraced chieftains, and the rest.
178
The seed is spare, nevertheless the crop shall never run out;
(Mind you, O foreign kings, O priests, the crop shall never run out.)
21 I see the blood wash'd entirely away from the axe;
Both blade and helve are clean;
They spirt no more the blood of European nobles — they clasp no more the necks of queens.
22 I see the headsman withdraw and become useless;
I see the scaffold untrodden and mouldy — I see no longer any axe upon it;
I see the mighty and friendly emblem of the power of my own race — the newest, largest race.
| Leaves of grass. | |