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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


WENDELL PHILLIPS by AMOS BRONSON ALCOTT

Poem Explanation

First Line: PEOPLE'S ATTORNEY, SERVANT OF THE RIGHT
Last Line: IMPARTIAL HISTORY DARE NOT LEAVE THEE OUT.
Subject(s): EMANCIPATION MOVEMENT & PROCLAMATION; FREEDOM; PHILLIPS, WENDELL (1811-1884); ANTISLAVERY MOVEMENT - UNITED STATES; LIBERTY;

PEOPLE'S Attorney, servant of the Right!
Pleader for all shades of the solar ray,
Complexions dusky, yellow, red, or white;
Who, in thy country's and thy time's despite,
Hast only questioned, What will Duty say?
And followed swiftly in her narrow way:
Tipped is thy tongue with golden eloquence,
All honeyed accents fall from off thy lips, --
Each eager listener his full measure sips,
Yet runs to waste the sparkling opulence, --
The scorn of bigots, and the worldling's flout.
If Time long held thy merit in suspense,
Hastening repentant now, with pen devout,
Impartial History dare not leave thee out.



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