Poem by Coates Kinney

The Thought and the Word

My thought is a soaring eagle,
  My word a serpent on the ground:
    The serpent crawls,
    The eagle falls
  Swifter than sight or sound.

A grapple of steely talons,
  A grip of coiling fetters round;
    And up the skies
    The eagle flies,
  Eagle with serpent bound.

A fight in the open heaven,
  And round and downward settling slow
    The strong bird sinks
    With snaky links
  Throttled to death below.

A curse on the strangling serpent!
  O, that my eagle did but know
    How down to stoop
    And with one swoop
  Finish him at a blow!

1. Freedmen's Battle-Hymn
2. Minnehaha
3. On an Indian's Grave
4. Is Life Worth Living?
5. Rain on the Roof

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