The
Slave Girl's Farewell
The
incident which suggested the following lines is this: A young girl was
living with her mother in one of the West Indian Islands, quite unconscious
of her being a slave. Her master, on leaving the Island for a permanent
residence in Louisiana, cruelly separated the girl from her parents
forever.
Mother,
I leave thee-thou hast been
Through
long, long years of pain
The
only hope my fond heart knew;
Or
e'er shall know again.
The
sails are set-my master waits
To
bear me far from thee;
I
linger-can I give thee up,
And
cross the fearful sea?
Oh,
let me gaze! how bright it seems
As
busy memory flies
To
view those scenes of other days,
Beneath
those bright blue skies.
The
little hut where I have played
In
childhood's fearless hours-
The
murmuring stream-the mossy bank,
Where
I have gathered flowers.
I
knew not then I was a slave,
Or
that another's will,
Save
thine, could bend my spirit's pride;
Or
bid my lips be still.
Who
now will soothe me at my toil,
Or
bathe my weary brow?
Or
shield me when the heavy lash
Is
raised to give the glow?
Thy
fond arms press me-and I feel
Thy
tears upon my cheek;
Tears
are the only language now
A
mother's love can speak.
Think
of me, mother, as I bend
My
way across the sea;
And
midst thy tears, a blessing waft,
To
her who prays for thee.
