By the waters of Babylon We sit down and weep, Far from the pleasant land Where our fathers sleep: Far from our Holy Place From which the Glory is gone We sit in dust and weep By the waters of Babylon. By the waters of Babylon The willow-trees grow rank: We hang our harps thereon Silent upon the bank. Before us the days are dark, And dark the days that are gone: We grope in the very dark By the waters of Babylon. By the waters of Babylon We thirst for Jordan yet, We pine for Jerusalem Whereon our hearts are set: Our priests defiled and slain, Our princes ashamed and gone, Oh how should we forget By the waters of Babylon? By the waters of Babylon Though the wicked grind the just, Our seed shall yet strike root And shall shoot up from the dust: The captive shall lead captive, The slave rise up and begone, And thou too shalt sit in dust, O daughter of Babylon. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BRIGHTNESS AS A POIGNANT LIGHT by DAVID IGNATOW DOWN BY THE CARIB SEA: 6. SUNSET IN THE TROPICS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON THE GHOST OF DEACON BROWN by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON CRITIC AND POET by EMMA LAZARUS |