Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE MAN FROM SANGAMON, AT GETTYSBURG, by ELEANOR G. R. YOUNG First Line: I am a man who knew abe lincoln well Last Line: That was abe lincoln, friend of all the world. Subject(s): Gettysburg Address (1863); Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865); Presidents, United States | ||||||||
I am a man who knew Abe Lincoln well; We logged together on the Sangamon. Abe was a thinker then, we noticed that; Noticed the way he used to go apart And watch the sunset flush the western sky Until the river seemed a thing of flame. Abe would sit there, a little off from us, The soft wind blowing his unruly locks, His face alight with deep, unspoken dreams. It was as if he visioned the long way His great, gaunt frame would one day have to go; As if he heard the distant roar of war. I have seen tears start in Abe Lincoln's eyes And run unheeded down his wind-bronzed cheeks Even as long ago as those old days When we were logging on the Sangamon. After the day's hard work we would sit there, Lost in the wild, still beauty of the place; (I can recall the smell of early spring That settled on the river after dark); Would sit and watch the stars come slowly out And hear the water lap against our boat And lose ourselves in quietness and sleep. But Lincoln would sit on, deep in his thoughts, One day we saw a slave sold on the bank: That night Abe Lincoln's heavy brows were knit In troubled thought. That night He did not close his brooding eyes, But sat there thinking till the morning sun Turned the pale sky into a flood of light. Today, when I stood there at Gettysburg, And saw that figure that I knew and loved Take its quiet place How can I put in words The thoughts that surged so swiftly through my heart? This was the man I knew so well and long This man who spoke such simple, tender words Truths that would root and grow and bear much fruit! Somehow, when he had finished, I ran forth And caught his great hand close within my own: "Abe!" I cried, huskily. "You know me, Abe?" There, in the great crowd, he leaned on my arm. Tears of delight were on his homely face. "It is as if," he told me, brokenly, "The years of war and horror were wiped out And we were on the Sangamon again. My heart has hungered after you, my friend." That was Abe Lincoln, friend of all the world. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...JOHN BROWN'S BODY by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS by JOHN HOLLANDER TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON INAUGURATION DAY: JANUARY 1953 by ROBERT LOWELL LINCOLN TRIUMPHANT by EDWIN MARKHAM YOUNG LINCOLN by EDWIN MARKHAM A MAN CHILD IS BORN (1809) by EDGAR LEE MASTERS AT SAGAMORE HILL by EDGAR LEE MASTERS BRUTUS LIVES AGAIN IN BOOTH by EDGAR LEE MASTERS A YOUNG CHIEF RETURNS by ELEANOR G. R. YOUNG |
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