I know not if thy noble worth
  My country's annals claim,
  For in her brief, bright history
  I have not read thy name.

  I know not if thou e'er didst live;
  Save in the vivid thought
  Of him who chronicled thy life,
  With silent suffering fraught.

  Yet, in thy history I see
  Full many a great soul's lot;
  Who joins that martyr-army's ranks,
  That the world knoweth not;---

  Who cannot weep "melodious tears,"
  For fame or sympathy;
  But who, in silence, bear their doom,
  To suffer and to die;---

  For whom no poet's harp is struck,
  No laurel wreath is twined;
  Who pass unheard---unknown, away,
  And leave no trace behind;---

  Who, but for their unwavering trust
  In Justice, Truth, and God,
  Would faint upon their weary way,
  And perish by the road.

  Truth, Justice, God! Oh mighty faith,
  To bear us up unharmed;
  The gates of Hell may not prevail
  Against a soul so armed.

This work was published before January 1, 1924, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

 
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