 | Leaves of grass (1872) |  |
2
4
Revolt! and the downfall of tyrants!The battle rages with many a loud alarm, and frequent advance and retreat,
The infidel triumphs—or supposes he triumphs,
Then the prison, scaffold, garrote, hand-cuffs, iron necklace and anklet, lead-balls, do their work,
The named and unnamed heroes pass to other spheres,
The great speakers and writers are exiled—they lie sick in distant lands,
The cause is asleep—the strongest throats are still, choked with their own blood,
The young men droop their eyelashes toward the ground when they meet;
—But for all this, liberty has not gone out of the place, nor the infidel enter'd into full possession.
5
When liberty goes out of a place, it is not the first to go, nor the second or third to go,It waits for all the rest to go—it is the last.
6
When there are no more memories of heroes and martyrs,365
Then only shall liberty, or the idea of liberty, be discharged from that part of the earth,
And the infidel come into full possession.
| Leaves of grass (1872) | |