Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Poem
November 13, 1824
The Ladies' Garland
Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, West Virginia
What is this article about?
A lament by African daughters mourning the death of explorer Mungo Park on the Joliba River, describing the perils of the African wilderness, Moors, and his fatal voyage eastward.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
THE NEGRO'S LAMENT FOR MUNGO PARK
Where the wild Joliba
Rolls his deep waters,
Sate at their evening toil
Afric's dark daughters,
Where the thick Mangroves
Broad shadows were flinging,
Each o'er her own loom
Bent mournfully singing--
Alas! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
Through the deep forest
Fierce lions are prowling
'Mid the thickets entangling
Hyæna's are howling ;
There should he wander,
Where danger lurks ever,
To his home, when the sun sets,
Return shall he never.
Alas! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
The hands of the Moor
In his wrath do they bind him
Oh ! seal'd is his doom
If the savage Moor find him.
More fierce than hyæna's,
Through darkness advancing
Is the curse of the Moor,
And his eye's fiery glancing !
Alas. ! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
A voice from the desart !
My wilds do not hold him :
Pale thirst doth not rack,
Nor the sand-storm infold him.
The death-gale passed by,
And his breath fail'd to smother.
Yet ne'er shall he wake
To the voice of his mother !
Alas! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
O loved of the Lotus
Thy waters adorning,
Pour, Joliba ! pour
Thy full streams to the morning
The Halcyon may fly
To thy wave as her pillow
But wo to the white man,
Who trusts in thy billow !
Alas! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
He launch'd his light bark,
Our fond warnings despising,
And sail'd to the land
Where the day beams are rising:
His wife from her bower
May look forth in her sorrow,
But he shall ne'er come,
To her hope of to-morrow.
Alas! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
Where the wild Joliba
Rolls his deep waters,
Sate at their evening toil
Afric's dark daughters,
Where the thick Mangroves
Broad shadows were flinging,
Each o'er her own loom
Bent mournfully singing--
Alas! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
Through the deep forest
Fierce lions are prowling
'Mid the thickets entangling
Hyæna's are howling ;
There should he wander,
Where danger lurks ever,
To his home, when the sun sets,
Return shall he never.
Alas! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
The hands of the Moor
In his wrath do they bind him
Oh ! seal'd is his doom
If the savage Moor find him.
More fierce than hyæna's,
Through darkness advancing
Is the curse of the Moor,
And his eye's fiery glancing !
Alas. ! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
A voice from the desart !
My wilds do not hold him :
Pale thirst doth not rack,
Nor the sand-storm infold him.
The death-gale passed by,
And his breath fail'd to smother.
Yet ne'er shall he wake
To the voice of his mother !
Alas! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
O loved of the Lotus
Thy waters adorning,
Pour, Joliba ! pour
Thy full streams to the morning
The Halcyon may fly
To thy wave as her pillow
But wo to the white man,
Who trusts in thy billow !
Alas! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
He launch'd his light bark,
Our fond warnings despising,
And sail'd to the land
Where the day beams are rising:
His wife from her bower
May look forth in her sorrow,
But he shall ne'er come,
To her hope of to-morrow.
Alas! for the white man ! o'er desarts a ranger,
No more shall we welcome the white bosom'd stranger.
What sub-type of article is it?
Elegy
Ballad
What themes does it cover?
Death Mourning
What keywords are associated?
Mungo Park
Negro Lament
Joliba River
African Dangers
Explorer Death
Poem Details
Title
The Negro's Lament For Mungo Park
Subject
Lament For Mungo Park
Form / Style
Stanzaic With Refrain
Key Lines
Alas! For The White Man ! O'er Desarts A Ranger,
No More Shall We Welcome The White Bosom'd Stranger.
He Launch'd His Light Bark,
Our Fond Warnings Despising,
And Sail'd To The Land
Where The Day Beams Are Rising: