Josiah Gilbert Holland

God, Give us Men!

GOD, give us men! A time like this demands
    Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands; 
    Men whom the lust of office does not kill; 
Men whom the spoils of office can not buy;
    Men who possess opinions and a will; 
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
    And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking! 
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
    In public duty, and in private thinking; 
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large professions and their little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps.