Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

To William E. Channing

The pages of thy book I read,
   And as I closed each one,
My heart, responding, ever said,
   "Servant of God! well done!"

Well done! Thy words are great and bold;
   At times they seem to me,
Like Luther's, in the days of old,
   Half-battles for the free.

Go on, until this land revokes
   The old and chartered Lie,
The feudal curse, whose whips and yokes
   Insult humanity.

A voice is ever at thy side
   Speaking in tones of might,
Like the prophetic voice, that cried
   To John in Patmos, "Write!"

Write! and tell out this bloody tale;
   Record this dire eclipse,
This Day of Wrath, this Endless Wail,
   This dread Apocalypse!