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1803–1882

HEROISM

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ruby wine is drunk by knaves, Sugar spends to fatten slaves, Rose and vine-leaf deck buffoons; Thunder-clouds are Jove's festoons,

Drooping oft in wreaths of dread, Lightning-knotted round his head; The hero is not fed on sweets, Daily his own heart he eats;

Chambers of the great are jails, And head-winds right for royal sails.

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HEROISM · Ralph Waldo Emerson · Poetry Cove