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Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882

"The Complete Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow"


For as I listen to your voice it seems
As if the Seven Thunders uttered their voices,
And the dead bodies lay about the streets
Of the disconsolate city! Bellingham,
I did not put those wretched men to death.
I did but guard the passage with the sword
Pointed towards them, and they rushed upon it!
Yet now I would that I had taken no part
In all that bloody work.
BELLINGHAM.
The guilt of it
Be on their heads, not ours.
ENDICOTT.
Are all set free?
BELLINGHAM.
All are at large.
ENDICOTT.
And none have been sent back
To England to malign us with the King?
BELLINGHAM.
The ship that brought them sails this very hour,
But carries no one back.
A distant cannon.
ENDICOTT.
What is that gun?
BELLINGHAM.
Her parting signal. Through the window there,
Look, you can see her sails, above the roofs,
Dropping below the Castle, outward bound.
ENDICOTT.
O white, white, white! Would that my soul had wings
As spotless as those shining sails to fly with!
Now lay this cushion straight. I thank you. Hark!
I thought I heard the hall door open and shut!
I thought I beard the footsteps of my boy!
BELLINGHAM.
It was the wind. There's no one in the passage.


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