The Colored Soldiers Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCBDECE FGHGIJKJ LMKMNOCP KQRQSTUT IVCVKVVR RWXWRQCQ YVZVA2VB2V CVVVCVRV C2D2B2D2 VVMV VE2RE2RECE| If the muse were mine to tempt it | A |
| And my feeble voice were strong | B |
| If my tongue were trained to measures | C |
| I would sing a stirring song | B |
| I would sing a song heroic | D |
| Of those noble sons of Ham | E |
| Of the gallant colored soldiers | C |
| Who fought for Uncle Sam | E |
| - | |
| In the early days you scorned them | F |
| And with many a flip and flout | G |
| Said These battles are the white man's | H |
| And the whites will fight them out | G |
| Up the hills you fought and faltered | I |
| In the vales you strove and bled | J |
| While your ears still heard the thunder | K |
| Of the foes' advancing tread | J |
| - | |
| Then distress fell on the nation | L |
| And the flag was drooping low | M |
| Should the dust pollute your banner | K |
| No the nation shouted No | M |
| So when War in savage triumph | N |
| Spread abroad his funeral pall | O |
| Then you called the colored soldiers | C |
| And they answered to your call | P |
| - | |
| And like hounds unleashed and eager | K |
| For the life blood of the prey | Q |
| Sprung they forth and bore them bravely | R |
| In the thickest of the fray | Q |
| And where'er the fight was hottest | S |
| Where the bullets fastest fell | T |
| There they pressed unblanched and fearless | U |
| At the very mouth of hell | T |
| - | |
| Ah they rallied to the standard | I |
| To uphold it by their might | V |
| None were stronger in the labors | C |
| None were braver in the fight | V |
| From the blazing breach of Wagner | K |
| To the plains of Olustee | V |
| They were foremost in the fight | V |
| Of the battles of the free | R |
| - | |
| And at Pillow God have mercy | R |
| On the deeds committed there | W |
| And the souls of those poor victims | X |
| Sent to Thee without a prayer | W |
| Let the fulness of Thy pity | R |
| O'er the hot wrought spirits sway | Q |
| Of the gallant colored soldiers | C |
| Who fell fighting on that day | Q |
| - | |
| Yes the Blacks enjoy their freedom | Y |
| And they won it dearly too | V |
| For the life blood of their thousands | Z |
| Did the southern fields bedew | V |
| In the darkness of their bondage | A2 |
| In the depths of slavery's night | V |
| Their muskets flashed the dawning | B2 |
| And they fought their way to light | V |
| - | |
| They were comrades then and brothers | C |
| Are they more or less to day | V |
| They were good to stop a bullet | V |
| And to front the fearful fray | V |
| They were citizens and soldiers | C |
| When rebellion raised its head | V |
| And the traits that made them worthy | R |
| Ah those virtues are not dead | V |
| - | |
| They have shared your nightly vigils | C2 |
| They have shared your daily toil | D2 |
| And their blood with yours commingling | B2 |
| Has enriched the Southern soil | D2 |
| - | |
| They have slept and marched and suffered | V |
| 'Neath the same dark skies as you | V |
| They have met as fierce a foeman | M |
| And have been as brave and true | V |
| - | |
| And their deeds shall find a record | V |
| In the registry of Fame | E2 |
| For their blood has cleansed completely | R |
| Every blot of Slavery's shame | E2 |
| So all honor and all glory | R |
| To those noble sons of Ham | E |
| The gallant colored soldiers | C |
| Who fought for Uncle Sam | E |
Paul Laurence Dunbar
(2)
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About The Colored Soldiers
The Colored Soldiers is a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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