Cleveland Suarez, "William McKinley" (1901)
The silent air is musical with thought---
I hear the beating of the nation's heart ;
It cannot hush the aching tears of grief
Since one has passed into the perfect night ,
The people bow their heads in the belief
He was a benefactor , faithful from the start.
O hero, martyr and the nation's chief,
The fragrant breathing of the silver chimes
Is but the adieu;
We see no more the placid face
That stood to greet the benediction of a RACE.
Published in Colored American Magazine, October 1901