There were no kings of men till men Made kings of men, and of the earth; There were no privileged classes when First Nature, man and beasts, had birth. Man was sole monarch of his sphere, And each with equal power was made; Each from the earth partook his share; Each shared with each earth's sun and shade. No fetters on the limbs were bound; The intellect was free as light; Man's every wish abundance found; He gloried in his earth-wide right. God made the earth and sky -- the breath Of mountain and of smiling vale -- And filled them all with life, not death, As bracing as the ocean gale! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TUNICA PALLIO PROPRIOR by MARIANNE MOORE A LITANY OF ATLANTA by WILLIAM EDWARD BURGHARDT DU BOIS KEENAN'S CHARGE by GEORGE PARSONS LATHROP HOPE AND DESPAIR by LASCELLES ABERCROMBIE IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE HYMNARY: 361. ST. JOHN BAPTIST by BEDE TO A DEAF AND DUMB LADY by JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD |