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. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AMERICA: SONNET 2 by SYDNEY THOMPSON DOBELL THE HIPPOPOTAMUS by THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT THE LOST CHORD by ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER OVERTURE TO A DANCE OF LOCOMOTIVES by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS CORYDON - A PASTORAL by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |