Poetry

Ralph Waldo Emerson was not only one of the famous New England poets of the 19th century, but also a noted orator, essayist and philosopher. He held strong religious and political beliefs, speaking in public in favor of the abolitionist movement during the Civil War. He wrote this poem in 1836 for the dedication of a monument commemorating the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the first battle of the American Revolution:


Concord Hymn

by Ralph Waldo Emerson


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.