II
O Freedom! Up to whose raised hand the seas
Leap, playful lions, or with head and main
Across their paws lie couchant—it is pain
To see thee whose heart beats are God's decrees,
And vital breathings are infinities,
Now check thy heart and hold thy breath to gain
The smile and plaudit of a depths with bane
In finger tips, while fawning on their knees.
What! Think the tyrant, whose great soul is trade,
Whose history, a crater, belching black
And lurid, keeps glad Easter morning back
From half the world—loves thee save to invade,
As blackward planned? loves thee, along whose track
March Human rights up to the stars parade?