Zinzendorff and Other Poems/Christian Settlements in Africa
CHRISTIAN SETTLEMENTS IN AFRICA.
Winds! what have ye gather'd from Afric's strand,
As ye swept the breadth of that fragrant land?
The breath of the spice-bud, the rich perfume
Of balm and of gum and of flowret's bloom?
"We have gather'd nought, save a pagan prayer,
And the stifling sigh of the heart's despair."
Waves! what have ye heard on that ancient coast
Where Egypt the might of her fame did boast,
Where the statue of Memnon saluted the morn,
And the pyramids tower in their giant scorn?
"We have heard the curse of the slave-ship's crew,
And the shriek of the chain'd as the shores withdrew."
Stars! what have ye seen with the glancing eye
From your burning thrones in the sapphire-sky!
"We have mark'd young hope as it brightly glow'd;
On Afric's breast whence the blood-drop flow'd,
And we chanted the hymn which we sang at first,
When the sun from the midnight of chaos burst."