To John Brown

To John Brown

Stand firm, John Brown, till your fate is o'er,

For the world, with an anxious eye,

Looks on as it seldom loked before,

As the hour of your doom draws night.

Dread not the blow that a coward deals,

And fear not the tyrant's nod;

Doubt not the end of the work you would shape,

For you're shaping the work of God.

The outer John Brown they wll torture and kill,

And tumble it into its grave,

But the inner John Brown may trouble them still,

By its whispering round with the slave.

Death nears you, John Brown, old outer John Brown,

And marks you as fod for the worm;

Nor death nor the worm can harm inner John Brown,

So, inner John Brown, stand firm.

David Barker

1:21, p. 1

12.10.1859