Liberty

Ambrose Bierce 1842 (Meigs County) – 1914 (Chihuahua)



''Let there be Liberty!' God said, and, lo!
The red skies all were luminous. The glow
Struck first Columbia's kindling mountain peaks
One hundred and eleven years ago!'

So sang a patriot whom once I saw
Descending Bunker's holy hill. With awe
I noted that he shone with sacred light,
Like Moses with the tables of the Law.

One hundred and eleven years? O small
And paltry period compared with all
The tide of centuries that flowed and ebbed
To etch Yosemite's divided wall!

Ah, Liberty, they sing you always young
Whose harps are in your adoration strung
(Each swears you are his countrywoman, too,
And speak no language but his mother tongue).

And truly, lass, although with shout and horn
Man has all-hailed you from creation's morn,
I cannot think you old-I think, indeed,
You are by twenty centuries unborn.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

44 sec read
134

Quick analysis:

Scheme AAXA BBXB CCXC DDXD EEXE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 800
Words 145
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. more…

All Ambrose Bierce poems | Ambrose Bierce Books

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    "Liberty" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 Nov. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/1827/liberty>.

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