Give Us Men

God give us men; a time like this demands

Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands.

Men whom the lust of office cannot 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 brave 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 its thumb-worn creeds,

Its large professions, and its little deeds,

Mingle in selfish strife—lo! Freedom weeps,

Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps.

J.G. Holland.