Classic Poem

Behold the day, a cent'ry old,
When fathers' cares were lifted off:
No more, as chattels to be sold,
On block on farm, on ship or wharf.

The sins of other men had made
The world a living hell those days;
But even as all sin do fade,
The curse is gone, true freedom says.

Profound regret we manifest
That slavery brought us here:
But God has done for us the best,
And kept us in His kindly care.

And now we rise as children new,
To fight the battles fresh and keen:
Our people, then, were sad and few,
But now the millions can be seen.

Good Buxton fought for us the fight
With Knibbs, Wilberforce, Clarkson, too:
They saw the awful, dreary night
That shadowed us, of darkest hue.

The hearts of England, called they out,
Good Christian men, as they did prove:
No stone unturned was left about,
To ease us from the hellish grove.

A century of histories
Has brought us salving, trusting laws;
And so we bless their memories,
And sing for freedom's noble cause.