Poems

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John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

Voice Of New England

Voice Of New England

UP the hillside, down the glen,
Rouse the sleeping citizen;
Summon out the might of men!
Like a lion growling low, <…

262
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

We May Not Climb the Heavenly Steeps

We May Not Climb the Heavenly Steeps

We may not climb the heavenly steeps
To bring the Lord Christ down;
In vain we search the lowest deeps

226
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

Trust

Trust


The same old baffling questions! O my friend,
I cannot answer them. In vain I send
My soul into the dark, where never burn

416
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

Valuation

Valuation


THE old Squire said, as he stood by his gate,
And his neighbor, the Deacon, went by,
'In spite of my bank stock and real estate…

284
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

Toussaint L’Ouverture

Toussaint L’Ouverture

'T WAS night. The tranquil moonlight smile
With which Heaven dreams of Earth, shed down
Its beauty on the Indian isle, —

217
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To William H. Seward

To William H. Seward

STATESMAN, I thank thee! and, if yet dissent
Mingles, reluctant, with my large content,
I cannot censure what was nobly mean…

201
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To The Reformers Of England

To The Reformers Of England

GOD bless ye, brothers! in the fight
Ye 're waging now, ye cannot fail,
For better is your sense of right
Tha…

226
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To The Memory Of Charles B. Storrs

To The Memory Of Charles B. Storrs

Thou hast fallen in thine armor,
Thou martyr of the Lord
With thy last breath crying 'Onward!'
And thy…

285
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To Pennsylvania

To Pennsylvania

O STATE prayer-founded! never hung
Such choice upon a people's tongue,
Such power to bless or ban,
As that which makes th…

285
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To Ronge

To Ronge

Strike home, strong-hearted man! Down to the root
Of old oppression sink the Saxon steel.
Thy work is to hew down. In God's name then

308
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To My Friend OnThe Death Of His Sister

To My Friend OnThe Death Of His Sister

Thine is a grief, the depth of which another
May never know;
Yet, o'er the waters, O my stricken brother! …

207
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To My Sister,

To My Sister,

WITH A COPY OF 'THE SUPERNATURALISM OF NEW ENGLAND.'

Dear Sister! while the wise and sage
Turn coldly from my playful page,…

313
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To Lydia Maria Child

To Lydia Maria Child

ON READING HER POEM IN 'THE STANDARD.'

The sweet spring day is glad with music,
But through it sounds a sadder strai…

275
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To James T. Fields

To James T. Fields

ON A BLANK LEAF OF 'POEMS PRINTED, NOT PUBLISHED.'

Well thought! who would not rather hear
The songs to Love and Frien…

292
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To Fredrika Bremer

To Fredrika Bremer

Seeress of the misty Norland,
Daughter of the Vikings bold,
Welcome to the sunny Vineland,
Which thy fathers sought of…

317
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To George B. Cheever

To George B. Cheever

So spake Esaias: so, in words of flame,
Tekoa's prophet-herdsman smote with blame
The traffickers in men, and put to shame, …

295
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To Englishmen

To Englishmen

You flung your taunt across the wave;
We bore it as became us,
Well knowing that the fettered slave
Left friendly lips no o…

272
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To Charles Sumner

To Charles Sumner

If I have seemed more prompt to censure wrong
Than praise the right; if seldom to thine ear
My voice hath mingled with the exul…

333
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To A Cape Ann Schooner

To A Cape Ann Schooner

Luck to the craft that bears this name of mine,
Good fortune follow with her golden spoon
The glazed hat and tarry pantalo…

286
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To A Southern Statesman

To A Southern Statesman

IS this thy voice whose treble notes of fear
Wail in the wind? And dost thou shake to hear,
Actæon-like, the bay of thine…

253
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

Thy Will Be Done

Thy Will Be Done

WE see not, know not; all our way
Is night, — with Thee alone is day:
From out the torrent's troubled drift,
Above the s…

341
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

To E. C. S.

To E. C. S.

Poet and friend of poets, if thy glass
Detects no flower in winter's tuft of grass,
Let this slight token of the debt I owe
O…

343
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

Theirs

Theirs


I.
Fate summoned, in gray-bearded age, to act
A history stranger than his written fact,
Him who portrayed the splendor and…

226
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier

The Wreck Of Rivermouth

The Wreck Of Rivermouth

Rivermouth Rocks are fair to see,
By dawn or sunset shone across,
When the ebb of the sea has left them free,
To …

353