Thomas R. Lounsbury, ed. (1838–1915). Yale Book of American Verse. 1912.
John Greenleaf Whittier 18071892
John Greenleaf Whittier75 Ichabod
S
Which once he wore!
The glory from his gray hairs gone
Forevermore!
A snare for all; And pitying tears, not scorn and wrath, Befit his fall! When he who might Have lighted up and led his age, Falls back in night. A bright soul driven, Fiend-goaded, down the endless dark, From hope and heaven! Insult him now, Nor brand with deeper shame his dim, Dishonored brow. From sea to lake, A long lament, as for the dead, In sadness make. Save power remains,— A fallen angel’s pride of thought, Still strong in chains. The soul has fled: When faith is lost, when honor dies, The man is dead! To his dead fame; Walk backward, with averted gaze, And hide the shame!