Poems On The Slave Trade - Sonnet II

Robert Southey 1774 (Bristol) – 1843 (London)



Why dost thou beat thy breast and rend thine hair,
 And to the deaf sea pour thy frantic cries?
 Before the gale the laden vessel flies;
The Heavens all-favoring smile, the breeze is fair;
Hark to the clamors of the exulting crew!
 Hark how their thunders mock the patient skies!
 Why dost thou shriek and strain thy red-swoln eyes
As the white sail dim lessens from thy view?
Go pine in want and anguish and despair,
 There is no mercy found in human-kind--
Go Widow to thy grave and rest thee there!
 But may the God of Justice bid the wind
Whelm that curst bark beneath the mountain wave,
And bless with Liberty and Death the Slave!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
68

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBACBBCADADEE
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 630
Words 119
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

Robert Southey

Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843. more…

All Robert Southey poems | Robert Southey Books

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