Classic Poem

Written for the Occasion of the Garrison Centenary, December
10, 1905

Some names there are that win the best applause
Of noble souls; then whose shall more than thine
All honored be? Thou heardst the Voice Divine
Tell thee to gird thyself in Freedom's cause,
And cam'st in life's first bloom. No laggard laws
Could quench thy zeal until no slave should pine
In galling chains, caged in the free sunshine.
Till all the shackles fell, thou wouldst not pause.
So to thee who hast climbed heroic heights,
And led the way to where chaste Justice reigns,
An anthem, — tears and gratitude and praise,
Its swelling chords, — uprises and invites
A nation e'en to join the jubilant strains,
Which celebrate thy consecrated days.