JUSTICE
When shall the mystic bands, by ages wound
Of Partiality and Prejudice
Be torn away from Justice' level eyes,
So that she clearly—safely! see, unbound
Each comer's face—however he be gown'd—
And mete to him his needs' correct supplies?
When all untouched by Slander's lies
Her scales? Unshaken by Might's foot, the ground
Whereon she stands, to weigh minutest shades
Of difference? To try the Motive's weight
The deed has brought? The feeling 'gainst its mask?
When shall she tell the size of Joy as 't fades;—
Of useless sacrifice to Love and Hate?
Oh, when shall Justice see to do her task?
Of Partiality and Prejudice
Be torn away from Justice' level eyes,
So that she clearly—safely! see, unbound
Each comer's face—however he be gown'd—
And mete to him his needs' correct supplies?
When all untouched by Slander's lies
Her scales? Unshaken by Might's foot, the ground
Whereon she stands, to weigh minutest shades
Of difference? To try the Motive's weight
The deed has brought? The feeling 'gainst its mask?
When shall she tell the size of Joy as 't fades;—
Of useless sacrifice to Love and Hate?
Oh, when shall Justice see to do her task?
********
Oh, Justice! Thou strong-armed iconoclast
Of wrong ideals, misshapen standards, all;—
Oh, measure thou the fragments, as they fall,
Nor let one piece, of worth, aside be cast,
Nor one preserved, Sham molded in the past;
And show thou man's real greatness but as tall
As Merit marks his height upon Life's wall!
Let thy just eyes guard us while Life shall last;—
Try our defeats against Temptation's darts,
And our success by our opponent's might;
By reached for heights measure our broken wings,
Else shall Despair find dwelling in our hearts
And kill the last live Hope—that parasite
Which feeds upon its own imaginings!
Of wrong ideals, misshapen standards, all;—
Oh, measure thou the fragments, as they fall,
Nor let one piece, of worth, aside be cast,
Nor one preserved, Sham molded in the past;
And show thou man's real greatness but as tall
As Merit marks his height upon Life's wall!
Let thy just eyes guard us while Life shall last;—
Try our defeats against Temptation's darts,
And our success by our opponent's might;
By reached for heights measure our broken wings,
Else shall Despair find dwelling in our hearts
And kill the last live Hope—that parasite
Which feeds upon its own imaginings!
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