Classic Poem

Friend of the People, purposeful and strong,
You, who would right their wrong,
You, of the ardent eyes
That woo the glory of the further skies!
For the glad answer of a new sunrise
Must you then wait so long?

Oh! Man of Vision! though the rest be blind,
You, who do love Mankind,
You, who believe
That our fair Country shall indeed retrieve
The promise of the ages. You shall find
Your heart's reprieve.

With your own motto
“Spend and so be spent,”
Your high intent
Makes of yourself a willing instrument.
With heart and soul afire
You do aspire
But to be broken, should the cause require,
An arrow shattered ere the bow be bent!

What though the sordid sneer!
They may not hear
The cry of those
Who suffer the fierce throes
Of pain and hunger after deadly toil.
Your brothers of the soil
Follow your beacon light
Away from their dark night.

And in the end,
Though you be spent,
You, who were glad to spend,
Who would not be
A baffled Moses with the eyes to see
The far fruition of the Promised Land.
Who would not understand
How to lead captive dread Captivity,
Who would not even crave
A lost and lonely grave
By Jordan's wave?