Wanted

Wanted  (1873)  by Josiah Gilbert Holland

Published in Garnered Sheaves (1873).

             
                         WANTED.

God give us men! A time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
    Men whom the spoils of office can not buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
    Men who have honor,—men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
    And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
    In public duty, and in private thinking;
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large professions and their little deeds,—
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps!