Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TO WILLIAM H. SEWARD, by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Statesman, I thank thee! And, if yet dissent Last Line: And the peacemaker be forever blest! Subject(s): Abolitionists; Seward, William Henry (1801-1872); Slavery; Anti-slavery; Serfs | ||||||||
STATESMAN, I thank thee! and, if yet dissent Mingles, reluctant, with my large content, I cannot censure what was nobly meant. But, while constrained to hold even Union less Than Liberty and Truth and Righteousness, I thank thee in the sweet and holy name Of peace, for wise calm words that put to shame Passion and party. Courage may be shown Not in defiance of the wrong alone; He may be bravest who, unweaponed, bears The olive branch, and, strong in justice, spares The rash wrong-doer, giving widest scope To Christian charity and generous hope. If, without damage to the sacred cause Of Freedom and the safeguard of its laws -- If, without yielding that for which alone We prize the Union, thou canst save it now From a baptism of blood, upon thy brow A wreath whose flowers no earthly soil have known, Woven of the beatitudes, shall rest, And the peacemaker be forever blest! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...JOY IN THE WOODS by CLAUDE MCKAY ELIZABETH KECKLEY: 30 YEARS A SLAVE AND 4 YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE by E. ETHELBERT MILLER EMANCIPATION by ELIZABETH ALEXANDER JOHN BROWN'S BODY by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET AMY WENTWORTH; FOR WILLIAM BRADFORD by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER |
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