SPANIARD! if thou art one who bows the knee Before a despot's footstool, hie thee hence! This ground is holy: here Padilla died, Martyr of freedom. But if thou dost love Her cause, stand then as at an altar here, And thank the Almighty that thine honest heart, Full of a brother's feelings for mankind, Rebels against oppression. Not unheard Nor unavailing shall the grateful prayer Ascend; for loftiest impulses will rise To elevate and strengthen thee, and prompt To virtuous action. Relics silver-shrined, And chanted mass, would wake within the soul Thoughts valueless and cold compared with these. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...POETRY by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON A PROBLEM IN AESTHETICS by KAREN SWENSON ON WORDSWORTH by DAVID HARTLEY COLERIDGE DISAPPOINTED by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR TO JOHN DONNE (1) by BEN JONSON ISAAC AND ARCHIBALD by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON |