Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PRESIDENT GARFIELD, by GEORGE SANTAYANA


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PRESIDENT GARFIELD, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: A child of fortune, taught in freedom's school
Last Line: A withered hope, a sorrow, and a name.
Subject(s): Garfield, James Abram (1831-1881)


A child of Fortune, taught in Freedom's school
To serve his country and himself to rule,
Heard the glad accents of the people's voice
Proclaim him monarch of the people's choice.
But fiendish malice struck a blow, and then
The dying patriot heard that voice again:
He heard the murmur of the nation's ire;
He heard the whisper of her long desire;
And when his heart with hers no longer throbbed,
The widowed nation with the widow sobbed;
Unwoven still, she strewed upon his bier
The laurels plucked to crown a long career.

Now in his native land there is a tomb,
And in his home there is a silent gloom;
There is a bond of union in his fall;
In his brave life, a lesson to us all;
And, in the annals of his country's fame,
A withered hope, a sorrow, and a name.





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