To John Brown.[1]
I.
Marble nor brass, nor granite from the shore
Which thy grave fathers trod with Pilgrim feet,
Thy tame shall never need; the hollow roar
Of Time's vast ocean will thy name repeat,
When we and all our works are buried low
Under the whelming of his restless tide.
In generous hearts thy praise shall ever glow
With theirs that earlier for sweet Freedom died.
Leonidas claims kindred with thy line,
Rome's firmest-rooted courage thou hast shared;
Not Sempach saw a nobler deed than thine,
When Winkelried his high achievement dared!
Nay, who sad Afric's kneeling race shall blame,
Blending with thine Judea's holiest name?
II.
Yet must we give what thou so well couldst spare
Thine earnest features, carved in whitest stone,—
Best symbol of a life as firm and fair,—
Shall grace this house, to thee so friendly known.
Here didst thou turn aside, a pilgrim gray;
Here didst thou lay that heavy burden down;
Here slept in peace, and with the breaking day
Departed hence to win thy noblest crown.
Now, while the opening year leads Freedom in,
And war's wild earthquake bursts the prison gate,
Our hearts, atoning for a nation's sin,
Give earnest of the honors that await.
And thou, blest Spirit! from thy calm retreat,
Give us Godspeed, and New Year's welcome sweet.
Concord, Jan. 1, 1863.
- ↑ These sonnets were read by Wendell Phillips at the house of Mr. Stearns, in Medford, when the marble bust of Brown was unveiled, Emancipation Day, Jan. 1, 1863.
