Thanksgiving Poem by Josias Lyndon Arnold

In future times, when wonder-mongers pry,
And search old records with a curious eye,
They’ll stand amaz’d, that in a single year
So many wonders on the page appear.
That – men of feeling tyrant custom brav’d,
And gave relief to Africans enslav’d;
Taught the white world, that men of sable skin
Had souls as white and pure as their’s within;
That Frenchmen burst thro’ slav’ry’s iron cage,
And rose to greatness on the human stage;
That first Columbia saw the glorious hour
That rais’d her credit, as she rose in power;
And when – miraculous event indeed!
A “Day of Thanks” Rhode-Island State decreed.