In the South lies a lonesome, hungry Land;
He huddles his rags with a cripple’s hand;
He mutters, prone on the barren sand,
What time his heart is breaking.
He lifts his bare head from the ground;
He listens through the gloom around:
The winds have brought him a strange sound
Of distant merrymaking.
Comes now the Peace so long delayed?
Is it the cheerful voice of Aid?
Begins the time his heart has prayed,
When men may reap and sow?
Ah, God! Back to the cold earth’s breast!
The sages chuckle o’er their jest;
Must they, to give a people rest,
Their dainty wit forego?
The tyrants sit in a stately hall;
They jibe at a wretched people’s fall;
The tyrants forget how fresh is the pall
Over their dead and ours.
Look how the senators ape the clown,
And don the motley and hide the gown,
But yonder a fast-rising frown
On the people’s forehead lowers.
(Sidney Lanier)
More Poetry from Sidney Lanier:
Sidney Lanier Poems based on Topics: Time, God, Man, Sadness, War & Peace, Joy & Excitement, Tyranny & Despotism, People- Acknowledgment. (Sidney Lanier Poems)
- Marsh Hymns (Sidney Lanier Poems)
- Souls And Rain-Drops (Sidney Lanier Poems)
- The Power Of Prayer (Sidney Lanier Poems)
- An Evening Song. (Sidney Lanier Poems)
- Martha Washington (Sidney Lanier Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Man Poems, God Poems, Sadness Poems, Time Poems, War & Peace Poems, Joy & Excitement Poems, People Poems, Tyranny & Despotism PoemsBased on Keywords: lonesome, listens, delayed, forego, lowers, motley, jibe, cripple, mutters, chuckle, senators
- Lamia. Part II (John Keats Poems)
- Hudibras - The Lady's Answer to The Knight (Samuel Butler Poems)
- A Congratulatory Epistle From His Holiness The Pope To The Reverend Dr. Snape (Nicholas Amhurst Poems)
- Bristowe Tragedie: Or The Dethe Of Syr Charles Badwin (Thomas Chatterton Poems)
- Queen Mab: Part V. (Percy Bysshe Shelley Poems)