Liberty

Liberty, fiery Goddess, dangerous Saint!
God knows I worship thee no less than they
Who fain would set thee in the common way
To battle at their sides without restraint,

Redoubtable Amazon! Who, never faint,
Climbest the barricades at break of day,
With tangled locks and blood-besmirched array,
Thy torch low-smoking through the carnage taint!

But I would set thee in a golden shrine
Above the enraptured eyes of dreaming men,
Where thou shouldst reign immutable, divine,
A hope to all generations and a sign;
Slow-guiding to the stars, through quag and fen,
The scions of thine aye-unvanquished line!