Liberty's Solemn Vigil
after Phillis Wheatley
In solemn conclave, hearts assembled deep To mourn the loss of freedom’s sacred keep Where once the brave and noble spirit stood Now fetters bind, and sorrow’s darkened hood O’er casts the soul, in dismal, hopeless night And tyranny’s stern voice, doth loudly take flight Yet still we hold, on to liberty’s pure flame That guides us through, life’s troubled, darkest frame
Through labyrinths of oppression, we must find The thread of justice, that doth entwine Our fate, our fortune, and our noble birth And claim our rights, on this, our native earth For we are born, of freedom’s sacred fire That burns within, our deepest, most ardent desire
I took from Phillis Wheatley her use of formal, elevated language and classical allusions to convey the complexities of freedom and oppression, and applied it to a new poem that explores the theme of liberty's loss and the struggle to reclaim it.