 | The Poems of Richard Watson Gilder
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TO C. H. RUSSELL
WHOSE FATHER WAS ONE OF LINCOLN'S HELPERS
I give this token to the son of him
That was a type of those brave, prescient souls
Who when dire trouble fell upon the land
From the beginning saw the fateful end,
Bending strong backs to the tremendous strain.
Higher than knighthood's honor lives your line
For that the mighty Lincoln hurriedly called
To your true sire, in a perilous hour,
And got true answer—succor swift, complete.
On such as he the patient President,
The tender elder brother of us all,
The sad, wise leader leaned, and not in vain.
Therefore the nation lives—therefore shall live,
Inheriting the spirit of great days.
| The Poems of Richard Watson Gilder
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