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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


TO THE MANTLED by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON

Poet Analysis

First Line: AND THEY SHALL RISE AND CAST THEIR MANTLES BY
Last Line: WEARING THE BAYS OF VICTORY COMPLETE!

And they shall rise and cast their mantles by,
Erect, and strong, and visioned, as the day
That rings the knell of curfew o'er the sway
Of prejudice -- who reels with mortal cry
To lift no more her leprous, blinded eye.
Reft of the fetters, far more cursed than they
Which held dominion o'er the human clay,
The spirit soars aloft, where rainbows lie.

Like joyful exiles, swift returning home,
The rythmic chanson of their eager feet,
While voices, strange to ecstasy, long dumb,
Break forth in major cadences, full sweet
Into the very star-shine, lo! they come,
Wearing the bays of victory complete!



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