Poems Sigourney 1834/On the Establishment of Schools in Africa

by Lydia Sigourney

ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOLS IN AFRICA.

Spirit of Science! who so long
    Expatriate from thy native sphere,
Hast traced no line, and breathed no song,
    That dark, deserted land to cheer—

Spirit of Power! who lotus-crowned
    Didst reign 'mid Egypt's temples proud,
But in oblivion's slumbers drowned
    'Neath the drear pyramids hast bowed—

Spirit of Piety! who nursed
    Of old, amid that sultry clime
Oft from Tertullian's musing burst,
    Or martyred Cyprian's page sublime,

Again ye wake, ye thrill the soul,
    Your resurrection morn appears,
Ye pour your language o'er the scroll
    Which Afric scans through raptured tears;

Wide may your hallowed wings expand
    From shore to shore, from wave to wave,
Till distant realms shall stretch the hand
    To strike the fetter from the slave—

Till Afric to her farthest bound
    Shall bid each billow of the sea,
And every palm-grove, catch the sound,
    And echoing shout—"Be free! be free!"