Slave In the Dismal Swamp, The
In dark fens of the Dismal Swamp
The hunted Negro lay;
He saw the fire of the midnight camp,
And heard at times a horse's tramp
And a bloodhound's distant bay.
Where will-o'-the-wisps and glow-worms shine,
In bulrush and in brake;
Where waving mosses shroud the pine,
And the cedar grows, and the poisonous vine
Is spotted like the snake;
Where hardly a human foot could pass,
Or a human heart would dare,
On the quaking turf of the green morass
He crouched in the rank and tangled grass,
Like a wild beast in his lair.
A poor old slave, infirm and lame;
Great scars deformed his face;
On his forehead he bore the brand of shame,
And the rags, that hid his mangled frame,
Were the livery of disgrace.
All things above were bright and fair,
All things were glad and free;
Lithe squirrels darted here and there,
And wild birds filled the echoing air
With songs of Liberty!
On him alone was the doom of pain,
From the morning of his birth;
On him alone the curse of Cain
Fell, like a flail on the garnered grain,
And struck him to the earth!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Vous avez aimé cette poésie ? faites la connaître !
D'autres poésies de Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Slave In the Dismal Swamp, The
In dark fens of the Dismal Swamp
The hunted Negro...
Skeleton in Armor, The
"Speak! speak I thou fearful guest
Who, with thy hollow...
Sir Humphrey Gilbert
Southward with fleet of ice
Sailed the corsair...
Shakespeare
A vision as of crowded city streets,
With human...
Seaweed
When descends on the Atlantic
The gigantic
Storm-wind...
Republic, The
Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O...
Reaper and the Flowers, The
There is a Reaper, whose name is Death,
And, with his...
Rainy Day, The
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the...
Rain in Summer
How beautiful is the rain!
After the dust and heat,
Quadroon Girl, The
The Slaver in the broad lagoon
Lay moored with idle...
Précédentes poésies
Words of Comfort to Be Scratched on a Mirror
Helen of Troy had a wandering glance;
Sappho's restriction...
Wisdom
This I say, and this I know:
Love has seen the last of...
Walter Savage Landor
Upon the work of Walter Landor
I am unfit to write with...
Wail
Love has gone a-rocketing.
That is not the worst;
I...
Victoria
Dear dead Victoria
Rotted cosily;
In excelsis...
