Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FREDERICK DOUGLASS, by JOSEPH SEAMON COTTER SR.


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FREDERICK DOUGLASS, by                
First Line: O eloquent and cuastic sage
Last Line: They'll turn and underrate thee.
Subject(s): Douglass, Frederick (1817-1895)


O eloquent and caustic sage!
Thy long and rugged pilgrimage
To glory's shrine has ended;
And thou hast passed the inner door,
And proved thy fitness o'er and o'er,
And to the dome ascended.

In speaking of thy noble life
One needs must think upon the strife
That long and sternly faced it;
But since those times have flitted by,
Just let the useless relic die
With passions that embraced it.

There is no evil known to man
But what, if wise enough, he can
Grow stronger in the bearing;
And so the ills we often scorn
May be of heavenly wisdom born
To aid our onward faring.

Howe'er this be, just fame has set
Her jewels in thy coronet
So firmly that the ages
To come will ever honor thee
And place thy name in company
With patriots and sages.

Now thou art gone, the little men
Of fluent tongue and trashy pen
Will strive to imitate thee;
And when they find they haven't sense
Enough to make a fair pretense,
They'll turn and underrate thee.





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