I BROTHERS! between you and me Whirlwinds sweep and billows roar: Yet in spirit oft I see On thy wild and winding shore Freedom's bloodless banners wave, -- Feel the pulses of the brave Unextinguished in the grave, -- See them drenched in sacred gore, -- Catch the warrior's gasping breath Murmuring 'Liberty or death!' II Shout aloud! Let every slave, Crouching at Corruption's throne, Start into a man, and brave Racks and chains without a groan; And the castle's heartless glow, And the hovel's vice and woe, Fade like gaudy flowers that blow -- Weeds that peep, and then are gone; Whilst, from misery's ashes risen, Love shall burst the captive's prison. III Cotopaxi! bid the sound Through thy sister mountains ring, Till each valley smile around At the blissful welcoming! And, O thou stern Ocean deep, Thou whose foamy billows sweep Shores where thousands wake to weep Whilst they curse a villain king, On the winds that fan thy breast Bear thou news of Freedom's rest! IV Can the daystar dawn of love, Where the flag of war unfurled Floats with crimson stain above The fabric of a ruined world? Never but to vengeance driven When the patriot's spirit shriven Seeks in death its native heaven! There, to desolation hurled, Widowed love may watch thy bier, Balm thee with its dying tear. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ODE FOR THE BURIAL OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT NO BABY IN THE HOUSE by CLARA G. DOLLIVER SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: ANNE RUTLEDGE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS A MINOR POET by AMELIA JOSEPHINE BURR THE MEANING OF THE WORD 'WRATH' by JOHN BYROM THE SOUL by MADISON JULIUS CAWEIN THE LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN: 5. THE LEGEND OF LUCRECE by GEOFFREY CHAUCER |