 | Complete Poems of Frances E. W. Harper |  |
WORDS FOR THE HOUR
Men of the North! it is no time
To quit the battle-field;
When danger fronts your rear and van
It is no time to yield.
To quit the battle-field;
When danger fronts your rear and van
It is no time to yield.
103
No time to bend the battle's crest
Before the wily foe,
And, ostrich-like, to hide your heads
From the impending blow.
Before the wily foe,
And, ostrich-like, to hide your heads
From the impending blow.
The minions of a baffled wrong
Are marshalling their clan,
Rise up, rise up, enchanted North!
And strike for God and man.
Are marshalling their clan,
Rise up, rise up, enchanted North!
And strike for God and man.
This is no time for careless ease;
No time for idle sleep;
Go light the fires in every camp,
And solemn sentries keep.
No time for idle sleep;
Go light the fires in every camp,
And solemn sentries keep.
The foe ye foiled upon the field
Has only changed his base;
New dangers crowd around you
And stare you in the face.
Has only changed his base;
New dangers crowd around you
And stare you in the face.
O Northern men! within your hands
Is held no common trust;
Secure the victories won by blood
When treason bit the dust.
Is held no common trust;
Secure the victories won by blood
When treason bit the dust.
'Tis yours to banish from the land
Oppression's iron rule;
And o'er the ruin'd auction-block
Erect the common school.
Oppression's iron rule;
And o'er the ruin'd auction-block
Erect the common school.
To wipe from labor's branded brow
The curse that shames the land;
And teach the freedman how to wield
The ballot in his hand.
The curse that shames the land;
And teach the freedman how to wield
The ballot in his hand.
This is the nation's golden hour,
Nerve every heart and hand,
To build on Justice, as a rock,
The future of the land.
Nerve every heart and hand,
To build on Justice, as a rock,
The future of the land.
104
True to your trust, oh, never yield
One citadel of right!
With Truth and Justice clasping hands
Ye yet shall win the fight!
One citadel of right!
With Truth and Justice clasping hands
Ye yet shall win the fight!
| Complete Poems of Frances E. W. Harper | |