Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight by Vachel Lindsay

As nations the world over mark the anniversary of the armistice to end World War I, I thought it would be post a poem written during that time. Most everyone knows of war poems such as McCrae's In Flanders Field and Wilfred Owen's Dulce et Decorum Est. This particular poem speaks of one of America's greatest presidents who served during America's horrendous Civil War and now awakes from his slumber to face turmoil once more. Lindsay was a poet from Springfield, Illinois.

Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight---Vachel Lindsay

It is portentous, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town,
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old courthouse pacing up and down.

Or by his homestead, or in shadowed yards,
He lingers where his children used to play;
Or through the market, on the well-worn stones,
He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.

A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high-top hat and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint great figure that men love,
The prairie lawyer, master of us all.

He cannot sleep upon his hillside now,
He is among us: --as in times before!
And we who toss and lie awake for long
Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.

His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.
Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?
Too many peasants fight, they know not why,
Too many homesteads in black terror weep.

The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.
He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly, the pain.

He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come; --the shining hope of Europe free;
The league of sober folk, the Workers' Earth
Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp and Sea.

It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,
That his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?

From Project Gutenberg and Bartleby.com---
work is in public domain.

I wish I had such power of language. More war poetry from Project Bartleby can be found here: http://www.bartleby.com/266.

Information also from Illinois Historic Preservation Agency