I.
Because ye have broken your own chain
 With the strain
Of brave men climbing a Nation’s height,
Yet thence bear down with brand and thong
On souls of others,—for this wrong
 This is the curse. Write.
Because yourselves are standing straight
 In the state
Of Freedom’s foremost acolyte,
Yet keep calm footing all the time
On writhing bond-slaves,—for this crime
 This is the curse. Write.
Because ye prosper in God’s name,
 With a claim
To honour in the old world’s sight,
Yet do the fiend’s work perfectly
In strangling martyrs,—for this lie
 This is the curse. Write.
II.
Ye shall watch while kings conspire
Round the people’s smouldering fire,
 And, warm for your part,
Shall never dare—O shame!
To utter the thought into flame
 Which burns at your heart.
   This is the curse. Write.
Ye shall watch while nations strive
With the bloodhounds, die or survive,
 Drop faint from their jaws,
Or throttle them backward to death;
And only under your breath
 Shall favour the cause.
   This is the curse. Write.
Ye shall watch while strong men draw
The nets of feudal law
 To strangle the weak;
And, counting the sin for a sin,
Your soul shall be sadder within
 Than the word ye shall speak.
   This is the curse. Write.
When good men are praying erect
That Christ may avenge his elect
 And deliver the earth,
The prayer in your ears, said low,
Shall sound like the tramp of a foe
 That’s driving you forth.
   This is the curse. Write.
When wise men give you their praise,
They shall pause in the heat of the phrase,
 As if carried too far.
When ye boast your own charters kept true
Ye shall blush; for the thing which ye do
 Derides what ye are.
   This is the curse. Write.
When fools cast taunts at your gate,
Your scorn ye shall somewhat abate
 As ye look o’er the wall;
For your conscience, tradition, and name
Explode with a deadlier blame
 Than the worst of them all.
   This is the curse. Write.
Go, wherever ill deeds shall be done,
Go, plant your flag in the sun
 Beside the ill-doers!
And recoil from clenching the curse
Of God’s witnessing Universe
 With a curse of yours.
   This is the curse. Write.
Other Elizabeth Barrett Browning songs:
all Elizabeth Barrett Browning songs all songs from 2013