Page:The West Indies, and Other Poems.djvu/73
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Shame flush'd her noble cheek, her bosom burn'd;
To helpless, hopeless Africa she turn'd;
She saw her sister in the Mourner's face,
And rush'd with tears into her dark embrace:
'All hail!' exclaim'd the Empress of the sea,
'Thy chains are broken, Africa be free!'
To helpless, hopeless Africa she turn'd;
She saw her sister in the Mourner's face,
And rush'd with tears into her dark embrace:
'All hail!' exclaim'd the Empress of the sea,
'Thy chains are broken, Africa be free!'
Muse! take the harp of prophecy:—behold!
The glories of a brighter age unfold:
Friends of the outcast! view the accomplish'd plan,
The Negro towering to the height of man.
The blood of Romans, Saxons, Gauls, and Danes,
Swell'd the rich fountain of the Briton's veins;
Unmingled streams a warmer life impart,
And quicker pulses to the Negro's heart:
A dusky race beneath the evening sun,
Shall blend their spousal currents into one:
Is beauty bound to colour, shape, or air?
No; God created all his offspring fair.
The glories of a brighter age unfold:
Friends of the outcast! view the accomplish'd plan,
The Negro towering to the height of man.
The blood of Romans, Saxons, Gauls, and Danes,
Swell'd the rich fountain of the Briton's veins;
Unmingled streams a warmer life impart,
And quicker pulses to the Negro's heart:
A dusky race beneath the evening sun,
Shall blend their spousal currents into one:
Is beauty bound to colour, shape, or air?
No; God created all his offspring fair.