 | Morning Songs |  |
60
ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE.
On either side of the river's bank,
Sweet nature hath waken the bloom;
And the vernal trees, and the grasses rank,
Subdue drear winter's gloom.
Sweet nature hath waken the bloom;
And the vernal trees, and the grasses rank,
Subdue drear winter's gloom.
As thunders along the turbulent tide,
To the end of her flow in the sea;
How little she know, that her channel divides,
The land of the slave and the free.
To the end of her flow in the sea;
How little she know, that her channel divides,
The land of the slave and the free.
The bondman ne'er ceased from his toil in the corn,
He sang, yet the strains were not glee;
To the twilight of eve, from the dawn of the morn,
He had gazed on the land of the free,
He sang, yet the strains were not glee;
To the twilight of eve, from the dawn of the morn,
He had gazed on the land of the free,
Long, long, had he toiled on the southern shore,
And gazed on that flowing tide;
And ofttimes grim thraldom he sadly deplored,
As he looked on the northern side.
And gazed on that flowing tide;
And ofttimes grim thraldom he sadly deplored,
As he looked on the northern side.
61
But the rigorous law, and the river's flow,
Defied him to venture the tide,
For the hands of the spoiler, had threatened the blow.
Should a bondman fail to abide.
Defied him to venture the tide,
For the hands of the spoiler, had threatened the blow.
Should a bondman fail to abide.
No hopes for his freedom, his head decked with gray,
Is bowed low with trouble and grief;
And his heart throbs with sighs,
As he longs for the day,
When death shall bring his relief.
Is bowed low with trouble and grief;
And his heart throbs with sighs,
As he longs for the day,
When death shall bring his relief.
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