Page:The Statues in the Block and Other Poems (1881).djvu/116

110 From the gleaming eyes of the burdened rank; They turned on the cliff, and a sob was heard As they looked far down on the darkened river; They raised their eyes to the sky—they grasped The dead to their breasts, while the wounded clasped The necks of the brothers who bore their weight— Then they sprang from the cliff, as a horse will spring For his life from a precipice—sprang to death In silence and sternness—one deep breath, As they plunged, of liberty, thrilled their souls, And then—the Chains were at rest forever!