 | Uncollected Poems of James Russell Lowell |  |
HYMN
Friends of Freedom! ye who stand
With no weapon in your hand,
Save a purpose stern and grand,
All men to set free,
Welcome! Freedom stands in need
Of true men in thought and deed—
Men who have this only creed,
That they will not flee!
With no weapon in your hand,
Save a purpose stern and grand,
All men to set free,
Welcome! Freedom stands in need
Of true men in thought and deed—
Men who have this only creed,
That they will not flee!
Though we were but two or three,
Sure of triumph we should be;
We our promised land shall see,
Though the way seem long:—
Every fearless word we speak
Makes Sin's stronghold bend and creak—
Tyranny is always weak,
Truth is young and strong!
Sure of triumph we should be;
We our promised land shall see,
Though the way seem long:—
Every fearless word we speak
Makes Sin's stronghold bend and creak—
Tyranny is always weak,
Truth is young and strong!
All the hero-spirits vast,
Who have sanctified the past,
Bearing witness to the last,
Fight upon our part;
We can never be forlorn:
He, who, in a manger born,
Bore the Priest's and Levite's scorn,
Gives us hope and heart.
Who have sanctified the past,
Bearing witness to the last,
Fight upon our part;
We can never be forlorn:
He, who, in a manger born,
Bore the Priest's and Levite's scorn,
Gives us hope and heart.
| Uncollected Poems of James Russell Lowell | |