Martin Luther King Poems

O POET rare and old! Thy words are prophecies; Forward the age of gold, The new Saturnian lies. The universal prayer And hope are not in vain; Rise, brothers! and prepare The way f...

(_To R. V.P._) Cum, listen w'ile yore Unkel sings Erbout how low sweet chariot swings, Truint Angel, wifout wings, Mah 'ittle Touzle Head. Stop! Stop! How dare you laff et me, Beka...

O, de birds ar' sweetly singin', 'Weh down Souf, An' de banjer is a-ringin', 'Weh down Souf; An' my heart it is a-sighin', Whil' de moments am a-flyin', Fur my hom' I am a-cryin',...

What dost thou here, thou shining, sinless thing, With many colored hues and shapely wing? Why quit the open field and summer air To flutter here? Thou hast no need of prayer. 'Tis...

Lay me down beneaf de willers in de grass, Whah de branch'll go a-singin' as it pass An' w'en I's a-layin' low, I kin hyeah it as it go Singin', "Sleep, my honey, tek yo' res' at l...

Supposed to be written by the chairman of the "Central Clique" at Concord, N. H., to the Hon. M. N., Jr., at Washington, giving the result of the election. The following verses wer...

Done at Atlanta, in the Day of Death, 1906 O Silent God, Thou whose voice afar in mist and mystery hath left our ears an-hungered in these fearful days-- _Hear us, good Lord!_ List...

Des a little cabin Big ernuff fur two. Des awaitin', honey, Cozy fixt fur you; Down dah by de road, Not ve'y far from town, Waitin' fur de missis, When she's ready to come down. De...

Seen my lady home las' night, Jump back, honey, jump back. Hel' huh han' an' sque'z it tight, Jump back, honey, jump back. Hyeahd huh sigh a little sigh, Seen a light gleam f'om hu...

As I lie in bed, Flat on my back; There passes across my ceiling An endless panorama of things-- Quick steps of gay-voiced children, Adolescence in its wondering silences, Maid and...

This poem finds its justification in the readiness with which, even in the North, clergymen urged the prompt execution of the Fugitive Slave Law as a Christian duty, and defended t...

Written in the summer of 1856, during the political campaign of the Free Soil party under the candidacy of John C. Fremont. Up, laggards of Freedom!--our free flag is cast To the b...

For the sun that shone at the dawn of spring, For the flowers which bloom and the birds that sing, For the verdant robe of the gray old earth, For her coffers filled with their cou...

Written after the election in 1586, which showed the immense gains of the Free Soil party, and insured its success in 1860. BENEATH thy skies, November! Thy skies of cloud and rain...

Written on the adoption of Pinckney's Resolutions in the House of Representatives, and the passage of Calhoun's "Bill for excluding Papers written or printed, touching the subject...

THE firmament breaks up. In black eclipse Light after light goes out. One evil star, Luridly glaring through the smoke of war, As in the dream of the Apocalypse, Drags others down....

WHEN first I saw our banner wave Above the nation's council-hall, I heard beneath its marble wall The clanking fetters of the slave! In the foul market-place I stood, And saw the C...

THE day's sharp strife is ended now, Our work is done, God knoweth how! As on the thronged, unrestful town The patience of the moon looks down, I wait to hear, beside the wire, The...

Written for the Fssex County Agricultural Festival, 1865. THANK God for rest, where none molest, And none can make afraid; For Peace that sits as Plenty's guest Beneath the homeste...

Some day, when trees have shed their leaves, And against the morning's white The shivering birds beneath the eaves Have sheltered for the night, We'll turn our faces southward, lov...

Dey was hard times jes fo' Christmas round our neighborhood one year; So we held a secret meetin', whah de white folks couldn't hear, To 'scuss de situation, an' to see what could...

Brother, come! And let us go unto our God. And when we stand before Him I shall say-- "Lord, I do not hate, I am hated. I scourge no one, I am scourged. I covet no lands, My lands...

Read before the Alumni of the Friends' Yearly Meeting School, at the Annual Meeting at Newport, R. I., 15th 6th mo., 1863. ONCE more, dear friends, you meet beneath A clouded sky N...

THROUGH the long hall the shuttered windows shed A dubious light on every upturned head; On locks like those of Absalom the fair, On the bald apex ringed with scanty hair, On blank...

On the passage of the bill to protect the rights and liberties of the people of the State against the Fugitive Slave Act. I SAID I stood upon thy grave, My Mother State, when last...

"Jove means to settle Astraea in her seat again, And let down from his golden chain An age of better metal."

In November, 1861, a Union force under Commodore Dupont and General Sherman captured Port Royal, and from this point as a basis of operations, the neighboring islands between Charl...

Gay little Girl-of-the-Diving-Tank, I desire a name for you, Nice, as a right glove fits; For you--who amid the malodorous Mechanics of this unlovely thing, Are darling of spirit a...

To be a Negro in a day like this Demands forgiveness. Bruised with blow on blow, Betrayed, like him whose woe dimmed eyes gave bliss Still must one succor those who brought one low...

Suggested by a visit to the city of Washington, in the 12th month of 1845. WITH a cold and wintry noon-light On its roofs and steeples shed, Shadows weaving with the sunlight From...