Samson (McKay)

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Samson (1920)
by Claude McKay

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First published in Workers' Dreadnought , 10 January 1920

2651614Samson1920Claude McKay

Samson

Samson, the chosen Nazarite, who ruled
The Jews for twenty years and judged their sins,
Snared in the web of flesh, by woman fooled,
Was captured by the hated Philistines.
But God remembered him in his downfall
And, in his blindness, gave him back his power,
Which nobly used he, at the gaoler’s call,
To save his soul in one grand crowning hour
O sable Samsons, in white prisons bound,
Wounded and blinded, in your hidden strength
Put forth your swarthy hands: the pillar found,
Strain mightily at them until at length
The accursed walls, reared of your blood and tears,
Come crashing, sounding freedom in your ears.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.

The longest-living author of this work died in 1948, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 75 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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