University of Virginia Library


108

ONWARD AND UPWARD.

Right onward the river is rolling,
Its fountains are pulsing below,
And 'tis not in human controlling
To turn but a wave of its flow!
Right onward the freeman may ride it,
And speed in the light of its course;
For faction no more can divide it,
Nor dam it by cunning or force.
Right upward the oak-tree is growing,
Forth-waving its leaves in the sun,
And deep in the green earth is sowing
The seed of a forest to come.

109

Right upward are striving the nations
With high-throned corruption to cope,
Preparing for new generations
This earth for the harvest of hope.
Right onward the breezes are blowing
The rise of the forest and wave:
And onward the great thoughts are going,
Upkindling the hearts of the brave.