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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FATHER, FATHER ABRAHAM by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON

Poet Analysis

Last Line: The ransom was not paid in vain.
(On the Anniversary of Lincoln's Birth)
Father, Father Abraham,
To-day look on us from above;
On us, the offspring of thy faith,
The children of thy Christ-like love.
For that which we have humbly wrought,
Give us today thy kindly smile;
Wherein we've failed or fallen short,
Bear with us, Father, yet awhile.
Father, Father Abraham,
To-day we lift our hearts to thee,
Filled with the thought of what great price
Was paid, that we might ransomed be.
To-day we consecrate ourselves
Anew in hand and heart and brain,
To send this judgment down the years:
The ransom was not paid in vain.



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