Poems (Greenwood)/To a reformer
TO A REFORMER.
"Enthusiast," " Dreamer,"—such the names
Thine age bestows on thee,
For that great nature, going forth
In world-wide sympathy;
For the vision clear, the spirit brave,
The honest heart and warm,
And the voice which swells the battle-cry
Of Freedom and Reform!
Thine age bestows on thee,
For that great nature, going forth
In world-wide sympathy;
For the vision clear, the spirit brave,
The honest heart and warm,
And the voice which swells the battle-cry
Of Freedom and Reform!
Yet, for thy fearless manliness,
When weak time-servers throng,—
Thy chivalrous defence of right,
Thy bold rebuke of wrong,—
And for the flame of liberty,
Heaven-kindled in thy breast,
Which thou hast fed like sacred fire,
A blessing on thee rest!
When weak time-servers throng,—
Thy chivalrous defence of right,
Thy bold rebuke of wrong,—
And for the flame of liberty,
Heaven-kindled in thy breast,
Which thou hast fed like sacred fire,
A blessing on thee rest!
'T is said thy spirit knoweth not
Its times of calm and sleeping,
That ever are its restless thoughts
Like wild waves onward leaping.
Then may its flashing waters
Be tranquil never more,—
They are "troubled" by an angel,
Like the sacred pool of yore.
Its times of calm and sleeping,
That ever are its restless thoughts
Like wild waves onward leaping.
Then may its flashing waters
Be tranquil never more,—
They are "troubled" by an angel,
Like the sacred pool of yore.