Bronze (Johnson)/Sonnet to the Mantled

by Georgia Douglas Camp Johnson

Exhortation

SONNET TO THE MANTLED

And they shall rise and cast their mantles by,Erect and strong and visioned, in the dayThat rings the knell of Curfew o'er the swayOf prejudice—who reels with mortal cryTo lift no more her leprous, blinded eye,Reft of the fetters, far more cursed than theyWhich held dominion o'er human clay,The spirit soars aloft where rainbows lie.

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