The crowd was gone, and to the side
Of Borglum’s Lincoln, deep in awe,
I crept. It seem’d a mighty tide
Within those aching eyes I saw.
“Great heart,” I said, “why grieve alway?
The battle’s ended, and the shout
Shall ring forever and a day,—
Why sorrow yet, or darkly doubt?”
“Freedom,” I plead, “so nobly won
For all mankind, and equal right,
Shall with the ages travel on
Till time shall cease, and day be night.”
No answer—then; but up the slope,
With broken gait, and hands in clench,
A toiler came, bereft of hope,
And sank beside him on the bench.
Joseph Fulford Folsom was a Presbyterian pastor and local historian, as well as a poet. He wrote a regular column on historical matters for the Newark Evening News, signing himself The Lorist. His poem on the Lincoln statue was included in the 1912 volume The Newark Lincoln.
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