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America and Other Poems 83 But soon its vows proved false and vain As the chameleons’ changeful hue. Now, when the hopes and joys are dead That gladdened once the heart of youth, All the romantic visions fled That told of friendship, love and truth, Turn we unto that steadfast friend Who guards our steps where’er they rove, Whose power supports us to the end, Whose word is truth, whose name is love. TO M. E. A. OH! Had I that poetic lore Bestowed upon the favored few, To ope’ Dame Nature’s bounteous store, And hold her treasures up to view, To climb Parnassus’ lofty mount,⁵² Or taste the Muses’ sacred fount, The far-famed Heliconian⁵³ spring, Which Grecian poets erst did sing,— And did Apollo,⁵⁴ and the Nine, With eloquence and verse divine, Direct my pen—I scarce could tell The numerous charms which in thee dwell. Thy loveliness of form and face Might serve as model for a Grace; 52. In Greek mythology, Parnassus was a mountain in central Greece sacred to the gods. 53. Pertaining to Helicon, a mountain sacred to the nine Muses, from which sprang the fountains associated with poetic inspiration. 54. In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo, the son of Zeus and Leto, is considered the god of light, truth, archery, and the arts. 84 America and Other Poems And the bright luster of thine eye Mahomet’s Houris⁵⁵ far outvie. The nobler beauties of the mind, Refined and elevated taste; Great moral purity, combined With every outward charm and grace And reason, governing the whole, Displays in every act, a soul High raised above the things which bind Down to the earth more sordid minds; And, soaring fetterless and free In its unsullied purity, Seems like a seraph wandering here, The native of a brighter sphere. A HYMN, WRITTEN FOR THE DEDICATION OF THE MICHIGAN STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, BUFFALO⁵⁶ ALMIGHTY God! in this thy house, For the first time thy people stand, To pay to thee their humble vows, And crave fresh mercies at thy hand. To thee, oh Lord! this house we rear; Deign thou the humble work to bless, And grant that many souls may hear The words of truth and righteousness 55. See p. 52, n. 18. 56. Formally organized between 1832 and 1837, the Baptist Church of Buffalo was among the cultural centers of Buffalo’s African American community, becoming a key stop on the Underground Railroad. The building itself was erected in 1849. ...

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