https://sonett.fontane-place.de/ Sat, 27 Jun 2026 12:49:13 +0000 MyBB https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24629 Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:33:59 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24629 TO MY BIRTH-PLACE.


WHETHER a persecuted child of thine
Thou deign to own, my lovely native place,*
In characters that Time cannot efface,
Thy worth is graved upon this heart of mine.

Forsake me not in anger, nor repine
That with this nation I am in disgrace :
From ruthless bondage to redeem my race,
And save my country, is my great design.

How much soe'er my conduct them dost blame,
(For Hate and Calumny belie my course,)

My labors shall not sully thy fair fame ;
But they shall be to thee a fountain-source

Of joyfulness hereafter when my name
Shall e'en from tyrants a just tribute force.


* Newburyport, Mass.



.]]> TO MY BIRTH-PLACE.


WHETHER a persecuted child of thine
Thou deign to own, my lovely native place,*
In characters that Time cannot efface,
Thy worth is graved upon this heart of mine.

Forsake me not in anger, nor repine
That with this nation I am in disgrace :
From ruthless bondage to redeem my race,
And save my country, is my great design.

How much soe'er my conduct them dost blame,
(For Hate and Calumny belie my course,)

My labors shall not sully thy fair fame ;
But they shall be to thee a fountain-source

Of joyfulness hereafter when my name
Shall e'en from tyrants a just tribute force.


* Newburyport, Mass.



.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24628 Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:33:32 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24628 ON THE DEATH OF A FRIEND.


THE grave, dear sufferer, had for thee no gloom,
And Death no terrors when his summons came :
Unto the dust returns the mortal frame,
But the SOUL spurns the bondage of the tomb,

And soars to flourish in immortal bloom !
Thou hast attained, at last, thy glorious aim
Heaven and its joys! through faith in Christ's dear name.
Why should we grieve, then, at thy early doom ?

If thy freed spirit be indeed at rest,
And singing sweetly in another sphere ;
If, as we trust, thou art among the blest,

Redeemed from all that made life painful here ;
Songs of rejoicing far become us best,
For light resplendent beams around thy bier !




.]]> ON THE DEATH OF A FRIEND.


THE grave, dear sufferer, had for thee no gloom,
And Death no terrors when his summons came :
Unto the dust returns the mortal frame,
But the SOUL spurns the bondage of the tomb,

And soars to flourish in immortal bloom !
Thou hast attained, at last, thy glorious aim
Heaven and its joys! through faith in Christ's dear name.
Why should we grieve, then, at thy early doom ?

If thy freed spirit be indeed at rest,
And singing sweetly in another sphere ;
If, as we trust, thou art among the blest,

Redeemed from all that made life painful here ;
Songs of rejoicing far become us best,
For light resplendent beams around thy bier !




.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24627 Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:33:06 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24627 TO APRIL.


THOU art to Spring what sunrise is to Day,
Sweet APRIL ! vivifying Earth and Sea !
The exiled bird returns the humming bee
Forsakes his hive, and wanders far away,

O'er field and brook whole tribes of insects gay,
Come forth, and flit around right merrily.
I grant, indeed, superior charms to May ;
But thy sweet buds are dearer far to me,

Than her superfluous, many-colored flowers ;
More joy I feel, the first-born grassy spire
To see, than greenest fields and fairest bowers :

In full fruition there is lost desire :
Bright are thy smiles, and fruitful are thy showers,
Gentle thy mien, and modest thy attire.



.]]> TO APRIL.


THOU art to Spring what sunrise is to Day,
Sweet APRIL ! vivifying Earth and Sea !
The exiled bird returns the humming bee
Forsakes his hive, and wanders far away,

O'er field and brook whole tribes of insects gay,
Come forth, and flit around right merrily.
I grant, indeed, superior charms to May ;
But thy sweet buds are dearer far to me,

Than her superfluous, many-colored flowers ;
More joy I feel, the first-born grassy spire
To see, than greenest fields and fairest bowers :

In full fruition there is lost desire :
Bright are thy smiles, and fruitful are thy showers,
Gentle thy mien, and modest thy attire.



.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24630 Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:32:50 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24630 ' Am I not a man and a brother ? '

MY heart is sad as I contemplate thee,
Thou fettered victim of despotic sway ;
Driven, like a senseless brute, from day to day,
Though equal born, and as thy tyrant free.

With hands together clasped imploringly,
And face upturned to Heaven, (Heaven shall repay !)
For liberty and justice thou dost pray,
In piteous accents, and on bended knee.

Thy exclamation, ' AM I MOT A MAN ?
A BROTHER ?' thrills my soul ! I answer YES !
Though placed beneath an ignominious ban,

That thou art both, all shall at last confess :
To rescue thee incessantly I 'll plan,
And toil and plead, thy injuries to redress.




.]]> ' Am I not a man and a brother ? '

MY heart is sad as I contemplate thee,
Thou fettered victim of despotic sway ;
Driven, like a senseless brute, from day to day,
Though equal born, and as thy tyrant free.

With hands together clasped imploringly,
And face upturned to Heaven, (Heaven shall repay !)
For liberty and justice thou dost pray,
In piteous accents, and on bended knee.

Thy exclamation, ' AM I MOT A MAN ?
A BROTHER ?' thrills my soul ! I answer YES !
Though placed beneath an ignominious ban,

That thou art both, all shall at last confess :
To rescue thee incessantly I 'll plan,
And toil and plead, thy injuries to redress.




.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24631 Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:32:28 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24631 TO SLEEP:
AFTER A NIGHT'S INCARCERATION IN PRISON.


THOU art no fawning sycophant, sweet Sleep !
That turn'st away if Fortune rudely frown,
Leaving the stricken one alone to weep,
And mourn his former opulent renown:

O, no ! but here even to this desolate place
Thou com'st as 't were a palace trimm'd with gold ;
Its architecture of Corinthian grace ;
Its gorgeous pageants dazzling to behold :

No prison walls nor bolts can thee affright
Where dwelleth Innocence, there thou art found !
How pleasant, how sincere wast thou last night !

What .blissful dreams my morning slumber crowned !
Health-giving Sleep ! than mine a nobler verse
Must to the world thy matchless worth rehearse.




.]]> TO SLEEP:
AFTER A NIGHT'S INCARCERATION IN PRISON.


THOU art no fawning sycophant, sweet Sleep !
That turn'st away if Fortune rudely frown,
Leaving the stricken one alone to weep,
And mourn his former opulent renown:

O, no ! but here even to this desolate place
Thou com'st as 't were a palace trimm'd with gold ;
Its architecture of Corinthian grace ;
Its gorgeous pageants dazzling to behold :

No prison walls nor bolts can thee affright
Where dwelleth Innocence, there thou art found !
How pleasant, how sincere wast thou last night !

What .blissful dreams my morning slumber crowned !
Health-giving Sleep ! than mine a nobler verse
Must to the world thy matchless worth rehearse.




.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24632 Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:31:55 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24632

Now let there be on earth an end of sin,
And all contention cease throughout the world ;
The glorious reign of HOLINESS begin,
And Satan's empire to the dust be hurled !

Let PEACE, at last, a final victory win !
Let WAR'S red banner be forever furled !
Resolve, Mankind ! to love and bless each other ;
Forget each hateful caste, each jarring creed ;

Behold in every man a friend and brother,
And minister to him as he hath need.
Are ye not children of a common Father?

Then to His will implicitly give heed :
So Crime and Poverty shall disappear,
And perfect bliss shall crown each new-born Year !





.]]>

Now let there be on earth an end of sin,
And all contention cease throughout the world ;
The glorious reign of HOLINESS begin,
And Satan's empire to the dust be hurled !

Let PEACE, at last, a final victory win !
Let WAR'S red banner be forever furled !
Resolve, Mankind ! to love and bless each other ;
Forget each hateful caste, each jarring creed ;

Behold in every man a friend and brother,
And minister to him as he hath need.
Are ye not children of a common Father?

Then to His will implicitly give heed :
So Crime and Poverty shall disappear,
And perfect bliss shall crown each new-born Year !





.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24633 Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:31:19 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24633 THE DYING YEAR.


THOU brief, eventful, fleeting, dying Year !
O, that with thee might die all mortal feud !
Wrath, Hatred, Malice, Envy, Lust, and Fear
All of Sin's hellish and accursed brood !

For, oh ! what woes, what crimes, what horrors dire,
Torment, affright, and curse the human race !
O, Prince of Peace ! Emanuel ! Messiah !
Make Earth, as Heaven, a holy dwelling-place !

Are not the kingdoms of this world thine own,
By promise, and a rich inheritance ?
Then seize the sceptre, and ascend thy throne,

And let thy cause from shore to shore advance ;
And from the river to remotest sea,
Let there go up the shout of victory !




.]]> THE DYING YEAR.


THOU brief, eventful, fleeting, dying Year !
O, that with thee might die all mortal feud !
Wrath, Hatred, Malice, Envy, Lust, and Fear
All of Sin's hellish and accursed brood !

For, oh ! what woes, what crimes, what horrors dire,
Torment, affright, and curse the human race !
O, Prince of Peace ! Emanuel ! Messiah !
Make Earth, as Heaven, a holy dwelling-place !

Are not the kingdoms of this world thine own,
By promise, and a rich inheritance ?
Then seize the sceptre, and ascend thy throne,

And let thy cause from shore to shore advance ;
And from the river to remotest sea,
Let there go up the shout of victory !




.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24626 Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:27:31 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24626 ON COMPLETING MY THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR.


IF to the age of three-score years and ten,
God of my life ! thoti shalt my term prolong,
Still be it mine to reprobate all wrong,
And save from woe my suffering fellow-men.

Whether, in Freedom's cause, my voice or pen
Be used by Thee, who art my boast and song,
To vindicate the weak against the strong,
Upon my labors rest Thy benison !

O, not for Afric's sons alone I plead,
Or her descendants ; but for all who sigh

In servile chains, whate'er their caste or creed :
They not in vain to Heaven send up their cry ;

For all mankind from bondage shall be freed,
And from the earth be chased all forms of tyranny.




.]]> ON COMPLETING MY THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR.


IF to the age of three-score years and ten,
God of my life ! thoti shalt my term prolong,
Still be it mine to reprobate all wrong,
And save from woe my suffering fellow-men.

Whether, in Freedom's cause, my voice or pen
Be used by Thee, who art my boast and song,
To vindicate the weak against the strong,
Upon my labors rest Thy benison !

O, not for Afric's sons alone I plead,
Or her descendants ; but for all who sigh

In servile chains, whate'er their caste or creed :
They not in vain to Heaven send up their cry ;

For all mankind from bondage shall be freed,
And from the earth be chased all forms of tyranny.




.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24625 Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:26:43 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24625 ON COMPLETING MY THIRTIETH YEAR.


YE Angels, and the Spirits of the Just!
Crowned as ye are, and throned in royal state !
In full seraphic strains congratulate,
Upon his waning years, a child of dust,

Who, as he fades, doth firmer find his trust
In GOD and holds the world at a mean rate,
But upon heaven puts a high estimate !
This fills his soul with joy that, with disgust.

The thirtieth round of my brief pilgrimage
To-day is ended 't is perchance the last
I shall complete upon this earthly stage ;

For toils increase, and perils thicken fast,
And mighty is the warfare that I wage :
Yet 't is my foes, not I, that stand aghast !





.]]> ON COMPLETING MY THIRTIETH YEAR.


YE Angels, and the Spirits of the Just!
Crowned as ye are, and throned in royal state !
In full seraphic strains congratulate,
Upon his waning years, a child of dust,

Who, as he fades, doth firmer find his trust
In GOD and holds the world at a mean rate,
But upon heaven puts a high estimate !
This fills his soul with joy that, with disgust.

The thirtieth round of my brief pilgrimage
To-day is ended 't is perchance the last
I shall complete upon this earthly stage ;

For toils increase, and perils thicken fast,
And mighty is the warfare that I wage :
Yet 't is my foes, not I, that stand aghast !





.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24624 Mon, 18 Apr 2022 00:26:17 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24624 TO ISAAC T. HOPPER.


HOPPER ! thou venerable friend of man,
In heart and spirit young, though old in years ;
The tyrant trembles when thy name he hears,
And the slave joys thy countenance to scan.

A friend more true and brave, since time began,
HUMANITY has never found : her fears
By thee have been dispelled, and wiped the tears
Adown her sorrow- stricken cheeks that ran.

If like Napoleon's appears thy face,
Thy soul to his bears no similitude ;
He came to curse, but thou to bless our race

Thy hands are white in blood were his imbrued:
His memory shall be covered with disgrace,
But thine embalmed among the truly great and good!




.]]> TO ISAAC T. HOPPER.


HOPPER ! thou venerable friend of man,
In heart and spirit young, though old in years ;
The tyrant trembles when thy name he hears,
And the slave joys thy countenance to scan.

A friend more true and brave, since time began,
HUMANITY has never found : her fears
By thee have been dispelled, and wiped the tears
Adown her sorrow- stricken cheeks that ran.

If like Napoleon's appears thy face,
Thy soul to his bears no similitude ;
He came to curse, but thou to bless our race

Thy hands are white in blood were his imbrued:
His memory shall be covered with disgrace,
But thine embalmed among the truly great and good!




.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24623 Fri, 15 Apr 2022 09:57:39 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24623 LIBERTY FOR ALL.


THEY tell me, LIBERTY ! that, in thy name,
I may not plead for all the human race ;
That some are born to bondage and disgrace,
Some to a heritage of woe and shame,

And some to power supreme, and glorious fame :
With my whole soul, I spurn the doctrine base,
And, as an equal brotherhood, embrace
All people, and for all fair freedom claim !

Know this, O man ! whate'er thy earthly fate
GOD NEVER MADE A TYRANT, NOR A SLAVE :

Woe, then, to those who dare to desecrate
His glorious image ! for to all HE gave

Eternal rights, which none may violate ;
And, by a mighty hand, th' oppressed HE yet shall save!



.]]> LIBERTY FOR ALL.


THEY tell me, LIBERTY ! that, in thy name,
I may not plead for all the human race ;
That some are born to bondage and disgrace,
Some to a heritage of woe and shame,

And some to power supreme, and glorious fame :
With my whole soul, I spurn the doctrine base,
And, as an equal brotherhood, embrace
All people, and for all fair freedom claim !

Know this, O man ! whate'er thy earthly fate
GOD NEVER MADE A TYRANT, NOR A SLAVE :

Woe, then, to those who dare to desecrate
His glorious image ! for to all HE gave

Eternal rights, which none may violate ;
And, by a mighty hand, th' oppressed HE yet shall save!



.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24622 Fri, 15 Apr 2022 09:57:19 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24622 FREEDOM OF THE MIND.


HIGH walls and huge the BODY may confine,
And iron grates obstruct the prisoner's gaze,
And massive bolts may baffle his design,
And vigilant keepers watch his devious ways :

Yet scorns th' immortal MIND this base control !
No chains can bind it, and no cell enclose :
Swifter than light, it flies from pole to pole,
And, in a flash, from earth to heaven it goes !

It leaps from mount to mount from vale to vale
It wanders, plucking honeyed fruits and flowers
It visits home, to hear the fireside tale,

Or in sweet converse pass the joyous hours.
'Tis up before the sun, roaming afar,
And, in its watches, wearies every star !




.]]> FREEDOM OF THE MIND.


HIGH walls and huge the BODY may confine,
And iron grates obstruct the prisoner's gaze,
And massive bolts may baffle his design,
And vigilant keepers watch his devious ways :

Yet scorns th' immortal MIND this base control !
No chains can bind it, and no cell enclose :
Swifter than light, it flies from pole to pole,
And, in a flash, from earth to heaven it goes !

It leaps from mount to mount from vale to vale
It wanders, plucking honeyed fruits and flowers
It visits home, to hear the fireside tale,

Or in sweet converse pass the joyous hours.
'Tis up before the sun, roaming afar,
And, in its watches, wearies every star !




.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24621 Fri, 15 Apr 2022 09:56:50 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24621

THEY who, as worshippers, some mountain climb,
Or to some temple, made with hands, repair,
As though the Godhead specially dwelt there,
And absence, in Heaven's eye, would be a crime,

Have yet to comprehend this truth sublime :
The freeman of the Lord no chain can bear
His soul is free to worship every where,
Nor limited to any place or time.

No worldly sanctuary now may claim
Man's reverence as a consecrated pile ;

Mosque, synagogue, cathedral, are the same, '
Differing in nought but architectural style :

Avaimt, then, Superstition ! in GOD'S name,
Nor longer thy blind devotees beguile !



.]]>

THEY who, as worshippers, some mountain climb,
Or to some temple, made with hands, repair,
As though the Godhead specially dwelt there,
And absence, in Heaven's eye, would be a crime,

Have yet to comprehend this truth sublime :
The freeman of the Lord no chain can bear
His soul is free to worship every where,
Nor limited to any place or time.

No worldly sanctuary now may claim
Man's reverence as a consecrated pile ;

Mosque, synagogue, cathedral, are the same, '
Differing in nought but architectural style :

Avaimt, then, Superstition ! in GOD'S name,
Nor longer thy blind devotees beguile !



.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24620 Fri, 15 Apr 2022 09:56:17 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24620 HOLY TIME.


O THOU, by whom Eternal Life is given, ,
Through Jesus Christ, thy well-beloved Son ;
As is thy will obeyed by all in heaven,
So let it now by all on earth be done !

Not by th' observance of one day in seven
As holy time, but of ALL DAYS AS ONE ;
The soul set free all legal fetters riven
Vanished the law the reign of grace begun !

Dear is the Christian Sabbath to my heart,
Bound by no forms from times and seasons free ;
The whole of life absorbing not a part ;

Perpetual rest and perfect liberty !
Who keeps not this, steers by a Jewish chart,
And sails in peril on a storm-tossed sea!



.]]> HOLY TIME.


O THOU, by whom Eternal Life is given, ,
Through Jesus Christ, thy well-beloved Son ;
As is thy will obeyed by all in heaven,
So let it now by all on earth be done !

Not by th' observance of one day in seven
As holy time, but of ALL DAYS AS ONE ;
The soul set free all legal fetters riven
Vanished the law the reign of grace begun !

Dear is the Christian Sabbath to my heart,
Bound by no forms from times and seasons free ;
The whole of life absorbing not a part ;

Perpetual rest and perfect liberty !
Who keeps not this, steers by a Jewish chart,
And sails in peril on a storm-tossed sea!



.]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24619 Fri, 15 Apr 2022 02:27:29 +0200 ZaunköniG]]> https://sonett.fontane-place.de/showthread.php?tid=24619

CHURCH of the living GOD ! in vain thy foes
Make thee, in impious mirth, their laughing-stock ;
Contemn thy strength, thy radiant beauty mock :
In vain their threats, and impotent their blows

Satan's assaults Hell's agonizing throes !
For thou art built upon the Eternal Rock,
Nor fears't the thunder storm, the earthquake shock,
And nothing shall disturb thy calm repose.

All human combinations change and die ;
Whate'er their origin, name, form, design ;
But, firmer than the pillars of the sky,

Thou standest ever by a power Divine :
Thou art endowed with Immortality,
And canst not perish GOD'S OWN LIFE is THINE !



.]]>

CHURCH of the living GOD ! in vain thy foes
Make thee, in impious mirth, their laughing-stock ;
Contemn thy strength, thy radiant beauty mock :
In vain their threats, and impotent their blows

Satan's assaults Hell's agonizing throes !
For thou art built upon the Eternal Rock,
Nor fears't the thunder storm, the earthquake shock,
And nothing shall disturb thy calm repose.

All human combinations change and die ;
Whate'er their origin, name, form, design ;
But, firmer than the pillars of the sky,

Thou standest ever by a power Divine :
Thou art endowed with Immortality,
And canst not perish GOD'S OWN LIFE is THINE !



.]]>