TO A FRIEND

[ZaunköniG]

TO A FRIEND.

Friend of mankind ! for thee I fondly cherish
Th' exuberance of a brother's glowing love ;
And never in my memory shall perish
Thy name or worth — so time shall truly prove !

Thy spirit is more gentle than a dove,
Yet hath an angel's energy and scope ;
Its flight is towering as the heaven above,
And with the outstretched earth doth bravely cope.

Thou standest on an eminence so high,
All nations congregate around its base ;
There, with a kindling soul and piercing eye,
The wrongs and sufferings of thy kind dost trace :

Thy country is the world — thou know'st no other —
And every man, in every clime, thy brother !