To a Foil'd European Revolutionaire.

Part of the cluster SONGS OF INSURRECTION.

TO A FOIL'D EUROPEAN REVOLUTIONAIRE.

1

¹COURAGE yet! my brother or my sister! Keep on! Liberty is to be subserv'd, whatever occurs; That is nothing, that is quell'd by one or two failures,
or any number of failures, Or by the indifference or ingratitude of the people, or
by any unfaithfulness, Or the show of the tushes of power, soldiers, cannon,
penal statutes. [ begin page 364 ]

ppp.00270.366.jpg ²Revolt! and still revolt! revolt! What we believe in waits latent forever through all
the continents, and all the islands and archi-
pelagos of the sea; What we believe in invites no one, promises nothing,
sits in calmness and light, is positive and com-
posed, knows no discouragement, Waiting patiently, waiting its time. ³(Not songs of loyalty alone are these, But songs of insurrection also; For I am the sworn poet of every dauntless rebel, the
world over, And he going with me leaves peace and routine behind
him, And stakes his life, to be lost at any moment.)

2

⁴Revolt! and the downfall of tyrants! The battle rages with many a loud alarm, and frequent
advance and retreat, The infidel triumphs—or supposes he triumphs, Then the prison, scaffold, garrote, hand-cuffs, iron neck-
lace and anklet, lead-balls, do their work, The named and unnamed heroes pass to other spheres, The great speakers and writers are exiled—they lie sick
in distant lands, The cause is asleep—the strongest throats are still,
choked with their own blood, The young men droop their eyelashes toward the ground
when they meet; —But for all this, liberty has not gone out of the place,
nor the infidel enter'd into full possession, ⁵When liberty goes out of a place, it is not the first to
go, nor the second or third to go, It waits for all the rest to go—it is the last. ⁶When there are no more memories of heroes and
martyrs, [ begin page 365 ]

ppp.00270.367.jpg And when all life, and all the souls of men and women
are discharged from any part of the earth, Then only shall liberty, or the idea of liberty, be dis-
charged from that part of the earth, And the infidel come into full possession.

3

⁷Then courage! European revolter! revoltress! For, till all ceases, neither must you cease. ⁸I do not know what you are for, (I do not know what
I am for myself, nor what anything is for,) But I will search carefully for it even in being foil'd, In defeat, poverty, misconception, imprisonment—for
they too are great. ⁹Revolt! and the bullet for tyrants! Did we think victory great? So it is—But now it seems to me, when it cannot be
help'd, that defeat is great, And that death and dismay are great.

Part of the cluster SONGS OF INSURRECTION.