Classic Poem

Thank God that thou hast spoken
Words earnest, true and brave,
The lightning of thy lips did smite
The fetters of the slave.

I thought the shadows deepened,
Round the pathway of the slave,
As one by one his faithful friends
Were dropping in the grave.

When other hands grew feeble,
And loosed their hold on life,
Thy words rang like a clarion
For freedom's noble strife.

Thy words were not soft echoes,
Thy tones no syren song;
They fell as battle-axes
upon our giant wrong.

God grant thy words of power
May fall as precious seeds,
That yet shall leaf and blossom
In high and holy deeds.