Page:Negro poets and their poems (IA negropoetstheirp00kerl).pdf/57

Rh A lordly eagle float and swing Upon his broad, untrammeled wing. He bent his bow, he poised his dart, With full intent to pierce the heart; But as the proud bird nearer drew, His stalwart arm unsteady grew, His arrow lingered in the groove— The cord unwilling seemed to move, For there he saw personified That freedom which had been his pride; And as the eagle onward sped, O’er lofty hill and towering tree, He dropped his bow, he bowed his head; He could not shoot—’twas Liberty!

Whitman, a younger contemporary of Bell’s, is the author of several long tales in verse. Like Bell, he wrote only in standard English, and like him also, shows a mastery of expression, with fluency of style, wealth of imagery, and a command of the forms of verse given vogue by Scott and Byron. Both likewise write fervently of the wrongs suffered by the black man at the hands of the white. Thus far they resemble; but if we extend the comparison we note important differences. Bell has more of the fervor of the orator and the sense of fact of the historian. He adheres closely to events and celebrates occasions. Whitman invents tragic tales of love and romance, clothing them with the charm of the South and infusing into them the pathos which results from