| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (18331908). An American Anthology, 17871900. 1900. |
| |
| 1437. Geronimo |
| | | By Ernest McGaffey |
| |
| |
| BESIDE that tent and under guard | |
| In majesty alone he stands, | |
| As some chained eagle, broken-winged, | |
| With eyes that gleam like smouldering brands, | |
| A savage face, streaked oer with paint, | 5 |
| And coal-black hair in unkempt mane. | |
| Thin, cruel lips, set rigidly, | |
| A red Apache Tamerlane. | |
| |
| As restless as the desert winds, | |
| Yet here he stands like carven stone, | 10 |
| His raven locks by breezes moved | |
| And backward oer his shoulders blown; | |
| Silent, yet watchful as he waits | |
| Robed in his strange, barbaric guise, | |
| While here and there go searchingly | 15 |
| The cat-like wanderings of his eyes. | |
| |
| The eagle feather on his head | |
| Is dull with many a bloody stain, | |
| While darkly on his lowering brow | |
| Forever rests the mark of Cain. | 20 |
| Have you but seen a tiger caged | |
| And sullen through his barriers glare? | |
| Mark well his human prototype, | |
| The fierce Apache fettered there. | |
| |
|
|
|