Poem #6: Imploring to be Resigned at Death

Imploring to be Resigned at Death

Let me die and not tremble at death,
  But smile at the close of my day,
And then at the flight of my breath,
   Like a bird of the morning in May,
                     Go chanting away.

Let me die without fear of the dead, 
    No horrors my soul shall dismay,
And with faith's pillow under my head,
    With defiance to mortal decay, 
                      Go chanting away.

Let me die like a son of the brave,
   And martial distinction display;
Nor shrink from a thought of the grave,
  No, but with a smile from the clay,
                 Go chanting away.

Let me die glad, regardless of pain,
   No pang to this world betray,
And the spirit cut loose from its chains,
    So loath in the flesh to decay,
                     Go chanting away.

Let me die, and my worst foe forgive,
    When death veils the last vital ray;
Since I have but a moment to live,
   Let me, when the last debt I pay,
                           Go chanting away.

George Moses Horton
     The George Moses Horton Project was founded in January 2000 as a special program of the Chatham County Arts Council, in partnership with the Horton Middle School and the Chatham County Black Historical Society. Its mission is to spark the creative spirit in Chatham students and citizens, and to honor local history, focusing on the life and work of George Moses Horton as a hero of literacy and expression.

Project, Horton. "George Moses Horton Project." George Moses Horton Project. George Moses Horton Project, 07 Aug. 2012. Web. 13 Aug. 2012. <http://chathamarts.org/horton/>.

Sherman, Joan R. "George Moses Horton." African-American Poetry: An Anthology, 1773-1927. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1997. 4-5. Print.