Elizabeth Barrett Browning - A Curse for a Nation: The Curse lyrics

I. Because ye have broken your own chain  With the strain Of brave men climbing a Nation's height, Yet thence bear down with brand and thong On souls of others,—for this wrong  This is the curse. Write. Because yourselves are standing straight  In the state Of Freedom's foremost acolyte, Yet keep calm footing all the time On writhing bond-slaves,—for this crime  This is the curse. Write. Because ye prosper in God's name,  With a claim To honour in the old world's sight, Yet do the fiend's work perfectly In strangling martyrs,—for this lie  This is the curse. Write. II. Ye shall watch while kings conspire Round the people's smouldering fire,  And, warm for your part, Shall never dare—O shame! To utter the thought into flame  Which burns at your heart.   This is the curse. Write. Ye shall watch while nations strive With the bloodhounds, die or survive,  Drop faint from their jaws, Or throttle them backward to d**h; And only under your breath  Shall favour the cause.   This is the curse. Write. Ye shall watch while strong men draw The nets of feudal law  To strangle the weak; And, counting the sin for a sin, Your soul shall be sadder within  Than the word ye shall speak.   This is the curse. Write. When good men are praying erect That Christ may avenge his elect  And deliver the earth, The prayer in your ears, said low, Shall sound like the tramp of a foe  That's driving you forth.   This is the curse. Write. When wise men give you their praise, They shall pause in the heat of the phrase,  As if carried too far. When ye boast your own charters kept true Ye shall blush; for the thing which ye do  Derides what ye are.   This is the curse. Write. When fools cast taunts at your gate, Your scorn ye shall somewhat abate  As ye look o'er the wall; For your conscience, tradition, and name Explode with a deadlier blame  Than the worst of them all.   This is the curse. Write. Go, wherever ill deeds shall be done, Go, plant your flag in the sun  Beside the ill-doers! And recoil from clenching the curse Of God's witnessing Universe  With a curse of yours.   This is the curse. Write.