 | [To Earth, in] The Liberty Bell |  |
51
To Earth.
Arouse, old Earth! thy sleep no more
That fevered dream assuages,
Which bound thee to the crumbling shore
Of long and darkened ages.
Rise, and the chains that 'round thee cling,
Rend with a strong endeavor,
Till with a sundering sound they spring
From off thy limbs forever!
That fevered dream assuages,
Which bound thee to the crumbling shore
Of long and darkened ages.
Rise, and the chains that 'round thee cling,
Rend with a strong endeavor,
Till with a sundering sound they spring
From off thy limbs forever!
The faint, far light of coming dawn,
Within thine eyelids creeping,
Bids all the phantom fears be gone,
Which filled thy heart with weeping;
And when the ever-mounting sun
Shall bring at last the morrow,
His eye of light shall look on none
Whom thou hast born to sorrow.
Within thine eyelids creeping,
Bids all the phantom fears be gone,
Which filled thy heart with weeping;
And when the ever-mounting sun
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His eye of light shall look on none
Whom thou hast born to sorrow.
Forget the centuries of gloom,
With that long slumber blending,
When o'er thy breast an iron doom
Seemed ceaselessly impending!
No more thy Titan soul may feel
Oppression's endless goading,
For voices from the future steal,
Fraught with a glad foreboding!
With that long slumber blending,
When o'er thy breast an iron doom
Seemed ceaselessly impending!
No more thy Titan soul may feel
Oppression's endless goading,
For voices from the future steal,
Fraught with a glad foreboding!
Hope yet, O Earth! unfelt before,
Truth steals her silent marches,
As steals the dawn of moonlight o'er
The night that overarches;
The shadows move but slowly back,
Chased by the radiance cheery,
And thou must walk a twilight track
Through many a cycle weary!
Truth steals her silent marches,
As steals the dawn of moonlight o'er
The night that overarches;
The shadows move but slowly back,
Chased by the radiance cheery,
And thou must walk a twilight track
Through many a cycle weary!
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Yet, even now, within thy veins,
The leaping blood rejoices;
And soon, a power that laughs at chains
Shall fill thy breast with voices!
And better far, the woes which cried
From thy great soul-unheeded,
Shall find, despite of Wrong and Pride;
The solace which they needed!
The leaping blood rejoices;
And soon, a power that laughs at chains
Shall fill thy breast with voices!
And better far, the woes which cried
From thy great soul-unheeded,
Shall find, despite of Wrong and Pride;
The solace which they needed!
Then lift thy solemn front on high,
In earnest, mute appealing;
While up thy grand eternal sky,
The morning-red is stealing!
Till Crime and Wrong and Slavery
Shall leave thy martyred bosom,
And, with God's blessing, gloriously
The flowers of Freedom blossom.
In earnest, mute appealing;
While up thy grand eternal sky,
The morning-red is stealing!
Till Crime and Wrong and Slavery
Shall leave thy martyred bosom,
And, with God's blessing, gloriously
The flowers of Freedom blossom.
KENNETT SQUARE, PENNSYLVANIA.
| [To Earth, in] The Liberty Bell | |