Liberty
Liberty, fiery Goddess, dangerous Saint!
God knows I worship thee no less than they
Who fain would set thee in the common way
To battle at their sides without restraint.
Redoubtable Amazon ! Who, never faint,
Climbest the barricades at break of day,
With tangled locks and blood-besmirched array.
Thy torch low-smoking through the carnage taint!
But I would set thee in a golden shrine
Above the enraptured eyes of dreaming men.
Where thou shouldst reign immutable, divine,
A hope to all generations and a sign;
Slow-guiding to the stars, through quag and fen.
The scions of thine aye-unvanquished line!
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