God, Give Us Men!
God, give us men! A time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Men who the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking;
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their large professions and their little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps.
- by Josiah Gilbert Holland
from The Best Loved Poems of the American People
compiled by Hazel Felleman
