OH, not unwept, unsung thy wrongs have been, Full many a swelling heart hath bled unseen; Full many a tearful prayer and mournful groan— Have to the ear of Heaven been breathed alone! Long have the iron hoofs of power and pride Trod on thee; long thy panting, bleeding side, Pierced by the barbed steel of Russian power— A fearful reckoning waits the avenging hour! How long, O Lord, how long! stretch out thy hand, Cast out the oppressor from the struggling land, The fetters rend, proclaim to Europe broad— Among the nations who is judge but God? Thy time must come; it will, for God is just: Arise and sing, thou dweller in the dust; Thy soiled and bleeding brow shall yet be crowned By Freedom's hand, and healed each ghastly wound. No power I wield, no influence can I bring, To bear upon the heart of Czar or King, But I can plead thy cause His throne before Who reigns, and rules, and lives for evermore! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE TENT ON THE BEACH: 3. THE GRAVE BY THE LAKE by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER IN THE GOLD ROOM by OSCAR WILDE PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 58. AL-MUHSI by EDWIN ARNOLD PATER FILIO by ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF ROBERT RUISSEAUX by ROBERT BURNS UPON THE KING'S SICKNESS by THOMAS CAREW SONG: ON HEARING A SONG IN PRAISE OF A LADY'S BEAUTY by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE |