When on the earth had settled moral night,
And darkness reigned where once shone Sinai's light;
When superstitious rites usurped the place
...
Slavery shall not reign for aye,
Though exalted to the sky;
Even now the doom is nigh,
For a just God reigns on high.
...
I
Another life from Life's Fountain,
Hath flowed through thy life into being,
...
Earth hath no true reality;
Its brightest gems doth time corrode;
Decay is marked on all we see,
And Life is but a weary road,
...
Wake not again the cannon's thundrous voice,
Nor to the breeze throw out the stars and stripes;
'Tis not the time to revel and rejoice
...
Our Father! when we wake and see
The glories of the morn arise,
And midnight shadows swiftly flee
Before the day-king's opening eyes.
...
On Mother Earth's fond bosom I delight to lie,
And gazing on the blue sky's fathomless depths,
Lose consciousness of self among the stars,
...
Beneath this mound her hallowed ashes lie;
In this dark grave her weary form reposes,
And all of her which death could cause to die,
...
Stars which our banners light,
Shine through oppression's night,
Warning to tyrants and hope to the slave;
Symbol of liberty,
...
Eighteen hundred and eighty-two,
Pass along; we have done with you.
Your record is sealed and laid away,
Not to be opened till Judgment-day.
...