Classic Poem

We would render fitting tribute,
We would add to thy great fame,
We would crown thee with due honor
And immortalize thy name.

Till Life's evening closed around thee,
Thy great love remained the same,
Then from out the Land of Spirits
Silently the summons came.

In the greatness of thy manhood,
We can see thee even now,
Stamped upon our hearts thy image,
Silver hair and noble brow.

“Grand old Statesman,” Thou wast loyal
To thy country and her cause,
By the right of such devotion,
Thou hast won our just applause.

Orator of noblest order,
Thine the power to declare,
Thrilling Theme, in tones portraying,
Eloquence, divinely rare.

Once, in pleading for thy people,
Who had suffered grevious wrong,
Words like these, intense with feeling
Fell upon the list'ning throng.

“Judge us not, O! favored races,
From the lofty heights of fame,
Rather measure our progression,
By the depths from whence we came.

Telling words, O, Great Defender,
Of a cause so dear to thee,
Not alone, thy love revealing
But thy heart's deep loyalty.

Broad and liberal was thy judgment,
One aim thine Equality
Caring not for creed or color,
Man was man alike to thee.

If beyond this mortal striving,
Man may reach a higher plain,
Thou wilt see Life's aim completed,
And to greatest heights attain.