 | Poems |  |
56
REUBEN JAMES.
On the deck, blood-soiled,In a death-grip coiled,
The captains lay;
Decatur up,—below, the Turk.
Fierce round them play
The Christian sword and Moslem dirk.
Above the hero's head
A scymitar keen flashes;
An instant more, he 's sped:
Down the sharp weapon dashes.
57
To seize the foe,
Nor arm nor sword is there; by stands
But one poor tar, maimed in both hands.
Down sweeps the Turkish glave,—
Decatur naught can save.
What cannot a brave heart?
That tar, with a quick start,
Thrusts his young head between:
It takes the steel's deep seam.
'T was for a hero by a hero done:
Both must be great that deed so great be won.
Higher among heroic names
Stands thenceforth none than Reuben James.
| Poems | |