Washington's Monument.

A monument to Washington?
    A tablet graven with his name?--
Green be the mound it stands upon,
    And everlasting as his fame!

His glory fills the land--the plain,
    The moor, the mountain, and the mart!
More firm than column, urn, or fane,
    His monument--the human heart.

The Christian--patriot--hero--sage!
    The chief from heaven in mercy sent;
His deeds are written on the age--
    His country is his monument.

"The sword of Gideon and the Lord"
    Was mighty in his mighty hand--
The God who guided he adored,
    And with His blessing freed the land.

The first in war--the first in peace--
    The first in hearts that freeman own;
Unparalleled till time shall cease--
    He lives immortal and alone.

Yet let the rock-hewn tower arise,
    High to the pathway of the sun,
And speak to the approving skies
    Our gratitude to Washington.

George Pope Morris

George Pope Morris was an American editor, poet, and songwriter. Born on October 10, 1802, he made significant contributions to American literature and music. Morris co-founded and edited the New York Evening Mirror, where he published works by Edgar Allan Poe and others. He is perhaps best known for his song "Woodman, Spare That Tree!" and his role in the early 19th-century literary scene. Morris died on July 6, 1864, leaving behind a legacy of editorial and creative work that influenced many American writers and musicians.

George Pope Morris

I Love the Night.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

A Hero of the Revolution.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

The Hunter's Carol.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

The Deserted Bride.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

English

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The Name Of Washington

[Read before the Sons of the Revolution, New-York, February 22, 1887]


Sons of the youth and the truth of the nation,
Ye that are met to remember the man
Whose valor gave birth to a people's salvation,
Honor him now; set his name in the van.
A nobleness to try for,
A name to live and die for -
    The name of Washington.

Calmly his face shall look down through the ages -
Sweet yet severe with a spirit of warning;
Charged with the wisdom of saints and of sages;
Quick with the light of a life-giving morning.
A majesty to try for,
A name to live and die for -
    The name of Washington!

Though faction may rack us, or party divide us,
And bitterness break the gold links of our story,
Our father and leader is ever beside us.
Live, a...

George Parsons Lathrop

The Land of Washington.

I glory in the sages
Who, in the days of yore,
In combat met the foemen,
And drove them from our shore.
Who flung our banner's starry field
In triumph to the breeze,
And spread broad maps of cities where
Once waved the forest-trees.
    --Hurrah!--

I glory in the spirit
Which goaded them to rise
And found a might nation
Beneath the western skies.
No clime so bright and beautiful
As that where sets the sun;
No land so fertile, fair, and free,
As that of Washington
    --Hurrah!--

George Pope Morris

At The Summit Of The Washington Monument.

[From Arthur Selwyn's Note-book.]

At The Summit Of The Washington Monument.

        Look North! A white-clad city fills
        This valley to its sloping hills;
        Here gleams the modest house of white,
        The statesman's longed-for, dizzy height.
        Beyond, a pledge of love to one
        Who in two lands was Freedom's son -
        The holder of an endless debt -
        Our nation's brother, Lafayette.
        But yonder lines of costly homes
        And bristling spires and swelling domes,
        And far away the spreading farms
        Where thrift displays substantial charms,
        And hamlets creeping out of sight,
        And cities full of wealth and might,
        Must own the fatherhood of him
        Whose...

William McKendree Carleton

A Hero of the Revolution.

Let not a tear be shed!
    Of grief give not a token,
Although the silver thread
    And golden bowl be broken!
A warrior lived--a Christian died!
Sorrow's forgotten in our pride!

Go, bring his battle-blade,
    His helmet and his plume!
And be his trophies laid
    Beside him in the tomb,
Where files of time-marked veterans come
With martial tramp and muffled drum!

Give to the earth his frame,
    To moulder and decay;
But not his deathless name--
    That can not pass away!
In youth, in manhood, and in age,
He dignified his country's page!

Green be the willow-bough
    Above the swelling mound,
Where sleeps the hero now
    In consecrated ground:
Thy epitaph, O Delavan!
God's noblest work--an honest man!

George Pope Morris

The Hero's Legacy.

Upon the couch of death,
    The champion of the free,
Gave, with his parting breath,
    This solemn legacy:--
"Sheathed be the battle-blade,
    "And hushed the cannons' thunder:
"The glorious UNION GOD hath made,
    "Let no man put asunder!
"War banish from the land,
    "Peace cultivate with all!
"United you must stand,
    "Divided you will fall!
"Cemented with our blood,
    "The UNION keep unriven!"
While freemen heard this counsel good,
    His spirit soared to heaven.

George Pope Morris

Champions of Liberty.

The pride of all our chivalry,
    The name of Worth will stand,
While throbs the pulse of liberty
    Within his native land:
The wreath his brow was formed to wear,
A nation's tears will freshen there.

The young companion of his fame,
    In war and peace allied,
With garlands woven round his name,
    Reposes at his side:
Duncan, whose deeds for evermore
Will live amid his cannon's roar.

Gates, in his country's quarrel bold,
    When she to arms appealed,
Sought like the Christian knights of old,
    His laurels on the field:
Where victory rent the welkin-dome,
He earned--a sepulchre at home.

The drum-beat of the bannered brave,
    The requiem and the knell,
The volley o'er the soldier's grave,
    His comrades' l...

George Pope Morris