William Cullen Bryant

“ Thy lash dropped blood; the murderer, at thy side,
⁠Showed his red hands, nor feared the vengeance due.
Thou didst sow earth with crimes, and, far and wide,
⁠A harvest of uncounted miseries grew,
Until the measure of thy sins at last
Was full, and then the avenging bolt was cast.
Go then, accursed of God, and take thy place
⁠With baleful memories of the elder time,
⁠With many a wasting pest, and nameless crime,
And bloody war that thinned the human race ”

“ Shrank from thy presence, and, in blank dismay,
⁠Choked down, unuttered, the rebellious thought;
While meaner cowards, mingling with thy train,
Proved, from the book of God, thy right to reign.
Great as thou wert, and feared from shore to shore,
⁠The wrath of God o'ertook thee in thy pride;
⁠Thou sitt'st a ghastly shadow; by thy side
Thy once strong arms hang nerveless evermore. ”

“ Breathes through the structure, and the massive walls
Are folded up; the proud domes roll away
In mist-wreaths; pinnacle and turret lean
Forward, like birds prepared for flight, and stream,
In trains of vapor, through the empty air. ”