But had run away to freedom.
But it came!
But in their hearts the slaves knew
When freedom would triumph
Some there were, as always,
Or that the union would stand,
In those dark days of slavery,
The people say it is promises-that will come true.
And silently too for granted
With John Brown at Harpers Ferry, Negroes died.
Before the Civil War, days were dark,
And the slaves knew
Then a man said:
What Frederick Douglass said was true.
The slaves made up a song:
That song meant just what it said: Hold On!
NO MAN IS GOOD ENOUGH
John Brown was hung.
It was a long timeago,
BETTER TO DIE FREE
Out of the darkest days for people and a nation,
And nobody knew for sure
Out of war it came, bloody and terrible!
The people often hold
Nor writethem down on paper.
Who doubted that the war would end right,
The poet says it was promises.
The people do not always say things out loud,
Guarding in their hearts the seed of freedom,
Else it had no meaning for anyone.
But others new it had to triumph.
That what he said was also meant for them.
There was a great wooded land,
THAN TO LIVE SLAVES
What he said must be meant for every human being-
There was light when the battle clouds rolled away.
Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On!
But now we know how it all came out.
Keep Your Hand On The Plow! Hold On!
And men united as a nation.
WITHOUT THAT OTHERS CONSENT.
TO GOVERN ANOTHER MAN
"Or if it would," thought some.
That the slaves would be free,
America is a dream.
But not so long ago at that, Lincoln said:
We know now how it came out.
Freedom will come!
There were slaves then, too,
He was a colored man who had been a slave
