 | Leaves of grass (1872) |  |
8
16
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.
17
(Whom have you slaughter'd lately, European headsman?Whose is that blood upon you, so wet and sticky?)
18
I see the clear sunsets of the martyrs;173
Ghosts of dead lords, uncrown'd ladies, impeach'd ministers, rejected kings,
Rivals, traitors, poisoners, disgraced chieftains, and the rest.
19
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.)
20
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.
21
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 (1872) | |