Classic Poem

ESSEX, MASSACHUSETTS .

Silent , breezy afternoons,
Silent, dull November eves,
Creaking gate and rusty hinge,
Voices of dead leaves.

Summer brings the tansy now,
Flaunting round the ancient well;
Farther stretches web and waste.
Time's decaying spell.

Wide across the continent
Speaks the patriot's deathless word;
Blossoms on the rocky hills,
In the vales is heard.

" I will give the Morning Star
To him, the Lord saith, who shall keep
My work unfailing to the end,
Nor ever slothful sleep. "

Then let winter tempests rage,
And the careless hand of spring
Scatter weeds where'er she goes, —
And autumn ruin bring!

Built up of our larger hope,
Of equal laws and equal right,
His home shall only oceans bind,
Nor ages quench his light.