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        Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

                        CONCORD HYMN:

SUNG AT THE COMPLETION OF THE BATTLE MONUMENT,
                               April 19, 1836.

      By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
          Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
      Here once the embattled farmers stood,
          And fired the shot heard round the world.

      The foe long since in silence slept;
          Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
      And Time the ruined bridge has swept
          Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

      On this green bank, by this soft stream,
          We set to-day a votive stone;
      That memory may their deed redeem,
          When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

      Spirit, that made those heroes dare
          To die, and leave their children free,
      Bid Time and Nature gently spare
          The shaft we raise to them and thee.

 


The above poem can found in:
  • Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Poems. New and Revised
    Edition
    . Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press, 1898.
  • Felleman, Hazel, ed. The Best Loved Poems of the
    American People
    . Garden City, NY: Garden City Books, 1936.