Sonnet to Gerrit Smith (Poem)

Sonnet to Gerrit Smith (Poem)

Written on hearing he had contributed two thousand dollars for the relief of the starving poor of Ireland.

No civic hours deck thy lofty brow,
Nor laurel wreaths won in the bloody fight;
Far nobler prizes glitter in thy sight,
And crown thy holy labours. Even now
Thy country owns thee as the poor man's friend,
And not thy country only; that green isle
Across the ocean, with a grateful smile,
Accepts thy bounty. Freely dost thou lend
What God hath given thee; freely dost thou cast
Thy bread upon the waters; but we know
It is not lost: each floating seed shall grow,
And yield abundant fruit. Bright o'er the past 
With growing lustre shall thy virtues glow,
And on thy name a deathless glory cast.

April 5, 1847. 
GULIELMUS.

The Non-Slaveholder 2:5, p. 119 (reprinted from the National Era)

1.5.1847