 | Coffin's Poems with Ajax' Ordeals |  |
196
A Mother's Rage.
Fruits of Lynching.
A mother stood at the river brink
Holding in her arms a dear child,
'Twas all on earth that the mother had,
And she said with a sacred smile:
“Your father did all a man could do
To live for you and for me;
But the wicked lynchers murdered him,
Irrespective of mother's plea.”
Holding in her arms a dear child,
'Twas all on earth that the mother had,
And she said with a sacred smile:
“Your father did all a man could do
To live for you and for me;
But the wicked lynchers murdered him,
Irrespective of mother's plea.”
She says, “I know whereof I speak,
In the sight of these my own eyes,
Your father said in a mournful tone:
‘Dear wife, kiss the baby good-bye,’
And that was the last I heard of him;
I knew not the lynchers' plan.
The world is witness to one true fact,
Thy father was an honest man.
In the sight of these my own eyes,
Your father said in a mournful tone:
‘Dear wife, kiss the baby good-bye,’
And that was the last I heard of him;
I knew not the lynchers' plan.
The world is witness to one true fact,
Thy father was an honest man.
But honesty in this fast age,
In regards to the dusky race
Has carried many 'cross the dark stage,
And brought to the whites a disgrace.
If this mode of death is continued,
Why should I leave you, my dear boy,
To have your life blotched with such sights,
Such a life you cannot enjoy!
In regards to the dusky race
Has carried many 'cross the dark stage,
And brought to the whites a disgrace.
If this mode of death is continued,
Why should I leave you, my dear boy,
To have your life blotched with such sights,
Such a life you cannot enjoy!
197
My child, I am almost tempted now
To throw thee into this river,
And let thy soul go wandering back
To Him who is the great forgiver.
For then thy mother will be satisfied
That thou art in God's tender care,
For another death like thy father's
Thy mother, she can never bear.
To throw thee into this river,
And let thy soul go wandering back
To Him who is the great forgiver.
For then thy mother will be satisfied
That thou art in God's tender care,
For another death like thy father's
Thy mother, she can never bear.
And then, my child when you have passed
Beyond earth's shadows and its teachings,
When Paradise is reached at last,
Brought to you by the Lord's entreating,
When starry crowns shall deck your brow,
And white robes to you be given,
My child, you can't imagine now,
How sweet 'twill be in heaven.
Beyond earth's shadows and its teachings,
When Paradise is reached at last,
Brought to you by the Lord's entreating,
When starry crowns shall deck your brow,
And white robes to you be given,
My child, you can't imagine now,
How sweet 'twill be in heaven.
The “many mansions” high in air
Will gleam with more than earthly splendor,
And the shining angels, pure and fair,
Will greet you with a love most tender;
Your head in grief shall never bow
But rapturous joy'll to you be given,
My child, you can't imagine now
How sweet 'twill be in heaven.
Will gleam with more than earthly splendor,
And the shining angels, pure and fair,
Will greet you with a love most tender;
Your head in grief shall never bow
But rapturous joy'll to you be given,
My child, you can't imagine now
How sweet 'twill be in heaven.
198
But oh? my child my heart repines,
How horrible would be the guilt
When in after years it comes to mind
That your blood was by mother spilt;
My child, I cannot bear to think
Of throwing thee into the tide;
But oh, the lynchers! the lynchers!
The mother fainted and died.
How horrible would be the guilt
When in after years it comes to mind
That your blood was by mother spilt;
My child, I cannot bear to think
Of throwing thee into the tide;
But oh, the lynchers! the lynchers!
The mother fainted and died.
| Coffin's Poems with Ajax' Ordeals | |