I dreamed I was with the lynchers,
And in their arms I lay,
Ah me! has the vision vanished,
Have the demons passed away?
They are like a pack of hell-hounds,
They seek an innocent man,
And simply on his color
He dies at their command.
Sing to me songs of slavery,
They will cool me after my sleep,
And with freedom's odors fan me,
Till into my veins they creep,
For my heart is hot and restless,
And all of the lynchers' crimes—
The hundreds of hanging bodies
Are dancing before my mind.
My soul! this lifeless nature,
Oppresses my brain and heart;
Oh! for a storm and thunder,
To sunder this world apart!
Stop singing, please—I hate it,
But take up a buckle and sword,
And clash these human demons,
Till this lynching world is stirred.
Now leave me, and take from my chamber,
This wretched mosquito, and tell
The people how much he annoys me,
With his silly, tinkling bells,
Its strange, but my nerves he vexes,
A thing without blood or brain,
But ask it first please to help me
To tear the lynchers in twain.
I long for the jungles of Africa,
Among the wild beasts to roam,
Where the hissing of the reptiles,
Will make me feel at home;
In a vision I was transported,
To Africa in a day,
And through the jungles of memory,
Loosen'd my fancy to play.
I wandered through the jungles,
I played with the crocodiles,
And toyed the head of the hissing asp,
As we often do a child;
The elephant trumpeting started,
When he heard my footsteps near,
The kangaroo fled wildly,
Crying in distressing fear.
And I heard a wild mate roaring,
As the shadows of night came on,
To snoose in the brush beside me,
And the thoughts of my sleep were gone.
Then I roused myself from slumber
And sprang to my trembling feet,
Anxious for some one to soothe me,
I wandered my mate to greet.
We grasped each other on meeting,
And rolled upon the sand,
And tried our best to kill each other—
How powerful he was and grand.
Then with all his might he seized me,
With a wild, triumphant cry,
That sounded like the lynchers' yell,
And the Negro's wail and sigh.
We grappled and worried together,
For we both had rage that was rude,
And his teeth as they sank into my flesh,
Drew forth the lynch-escaped blood.
But I had courage to fight him,
For we were but foe to foe,
While the lynchers come by hundreds,
To defend we have no show.
Other wild beasts were vicious,
The lion and the grizzly bear
Fought for me in the moonlight,
While I lay crouching there.
Then down to the river we loitered,
Where the young fawns came to drink,
And my beast friends sprang upon them,
Ere they had time to shrink.
The wild beast in the jungles,
Had tenderer, softer hearts,
Than America's Anglo-Saxon,
In civilized Christian marts;
Would that I had the power
To touch the hearts of men,
And with the aid of wild beast
Reveal this wretched sin.
And in their arms I lay,
Ah me! has the vision vanished,
Have the demons passed away?
They are like a pack of hell-hounds,
They seek an innocent man,
And simply on his color
He dies at their command.
Sing to me songs of slavery,
They will cool me after my sleep,
And with freedom's odors fan me,
Till into my veins they creep,
For my heart is hot and restless,
And all of the lynchers' crimes—
The hundreds of hanging bodies
Are dancing before my mind.
My soul! this lifeless nature,
Oppresses my brain and heart;
Oh! for a storm and thunder,
To sunder this world apart!
Stop singing, please—I hate it,
But take up a buckle and sword,
And clash these human demons,
Till this lynching world is stirred.
Now leave me, and take from my chamber,
This wretched mosquito, and tell
The people how much he annoys me,
With his silly, tinkling bells,
Its strange, but my nerves he vexes,
A thing without blood or brain,
But ask it first please to help me
To tear the lynchers in twain.
I long for the jungles of Africa,
Among the wild beasts to roam,
Where the hissing of the reptiles,
Will make me feel at home;
In a vision I was transported,
To Africa in a day,
And through the jungles of memory,
Loosen'd my fancy to play.
I wandered through the jungles,
I played with the crocodiles,
And toyed the head of the hissing asp,
As we often do a child;
The elephant trumpeting started,
When he heard my footsteps near,
The kangaroo fled wildly,
Crying in distressing fear.
And I heard a wild mate roaring,
As the shadows of night came on,
To snoose in the brush beside me,
And the thoughts of my sleep were gone.
Then I roused myself from slumber
And sprang to my trembling feet,
Anxious for some one to soothe me,
I wandered my mate to greet.
We grasped each other on meeting,
And rolled upon the sand,
And tried our best to kill each other—
How powerful he was and grand.
Then with all his might he seized me,
With a wild, triumphant cry,
That sounded like the lynchers' yell,
And the Negro's wail and sigh.
We grappled and worried together,
For we both had rage that was rude,
And his teeth as they sank into my flesh,
Drew forth the lynch-escaped blood.
But I had courage to fight him,
For we were but foe to foe,
While the lynchers come by hundreds,
To defend we have no show.
Other wild beasts were vicious,
The lion and the grizzly bear
Fought for me in the moonlight,
While I lay crouching there.
Then down to the river we loitered,
Where the young fawns came to drink,
And my beast friends sprang upon them,
Ere they had time to shrink.
The wild beast in the jungles,
Had tenderer, softer hearts,
Than America's Anglo-Saxon,
In civilized Christian marts;
Would that I had the power
To touch the hearts of men,
And with the aid of wild beast
Reveal this wretched sin.
