That I might chisel a statue, line on line,
Out of a marble’s chaste severities!
Angular, harsh; no softened curves
to please;
Set
tears within the eyes to make them shine,
And
furrows on the brow, deep, stern, yet fine;
Gaunt, awkward, tall; no courtier of
ease;
The trousers bulging at the bony
knees;
Long
nose, large mouth. . . . But ah, the light divine
Of
Truth,―the light that set a people free!―
Burning upon it in a steady flame,
As sunset fires a white peak on the
sky. . . .
Ah,
God! To leave it nameless and yet see
Men looking weep and bow themselves
and cry―
“Enough, enough! We know thy
statue’s name!”
"The Statue" was written about the Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C.
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