Granville CalhounI wanted to be County JudgeOne more term, so as to round out a serviceOf thirty years.But my friends left me and joined my enemies,And they elected a new man.Then a spirit of revenge seized me,And I infected my four sons with it,And I brooded upon retaliation,Until the great physician, Nature,Smote me through with paralysisTo give my soul and body a rest.Did my sons get power and money?Did they serve the people or yoke them,To till and harvest fields of self?For how could they ever forgetMy face at my bed-room window,Sitting helpless amid my golden cagesOf singing canaries,Looking at the old court-house?
I wanted to be County JudgeOne more term, so as to round out a serviceOf thirty years.But my friends left me and joined my enemies,And they elected a new man.Then a spirit of revenge seized me,And I infected my four sons with it,And I brooded upon retaliation,Until the great physician, Nature,Smote me through with paralysisTo give my soul and body a rest.Did my sons get power and money?Did they serve the people or yoke them,To till and harvest fields of self?For how could they ever forgetMy face at my bed-room window,Sitting helpless amid my golden cagesOf singing canaries,Looking at the old court-house?