Edna Perry Booth; Chicago Defender, August 4, 1917

I wonder if Abe Lincoln can look down from where he is,
And see the things that happen in this land that once was his;
I wonder if his heart aches; if the fears bedim his eyes;
If heaven is not quite perfect for him, beyond the skies.
He must recall the message he gave us, long ago,
When he said, “God made men equal,” then helped to prove then.
But are they equal? Are they free? And what is freedom, pray,
When some men’s souls are scarce their own in this free land too.

So I wonder if Abe Lincoln wouldn’t like to just step down
To earth, and count as nothing the loss of golden crown,
Just to show an erring people what he meant when once he said,
“Equality for each one,” be he black or white or red.
Yes, his heart must ache, and grieving must fill his soul to see,
How they’ve abused his message since the days of ’63.
But patience, men, truth crushed to earth will surely rise again.
And never anything worth while was won, except through pain.

There’s Someone who is watching; there’s Someone taking toll;
And every unjust deed will reap, some day, a white man’s soul.
Abe Lincoln yet will see his words respected and fulfilled,
Will find the cruel slander against the dark race stilled.
Then, perhaps, we’ll boast a country that is brave and truly free,
That upholds its own dear honor and its vaunted liberty;
Then our E Pluribus Unum will be more than empty phrases
And our treatment of the dark race won’t besmirch the flag.

[This poem appears in two categories: Hope, Determination, and the Future and God and Christ.]