 | Poems Real and Ideal |  |
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II. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
“Vengeance is mine.” So saith the mighty Lord.
“Vengeance is mine; deliver unto me
The man—I claim him. He is not for thee,
Thou land of his, to slay. Mine is the sword
Of vengeance. Put by that accursed cord,
And hack to pieces that black gallows-tree;—
Murder no murderer; let the creature be;
Mine are the gates of death,”—so saith the Lord.
“Vengeance is mine; deliver unto me
The man—I claim him. He is not for thee,
Thou land of his, to slay. Mine is the sword
Of vengeance. Put by that accursed cord,
And hack to pieces that black gallows-tree;—
Murder no murderer; let the creature be;
Mine are the gates of death,”—so saith the Lord.
“The spirit he hath slain is in my hand;
I will judge justly, punish and requite;
But purge this stain of blood from out the land.
The dawn is waiting, but its golden light
Trembles, for in its path your gibbets stand,
Still clothed about with horrors of the night.”
I will judge justly, punish and requite;
But purge this stain of blood from out the land.
The dawn is waiting, but its golden light
Trembles, for in its path your gibbets stand,
Still clothed about with horrors of the night.”
April 18, 1882.
| Poems Real and Ideal | |