William Stanley Braithwaite, "Easter Day" (1901)
And odorous breath
Of lilies, and the sweet geranium,
With the low hum
Of birds, spoke softly to my ears and said :
"He who was dead
Lives once again — He rose 'twixt day and night
In samite white.
And all the morn grew flush'd in subtle bloom;
All death's sad gloom
Vanished; and joy, as when His foot touched earth
Sprang into birth."
Then one did seem to stand in field nearby,
And loudly cry:
"Step blithely midst the flow'rs, for I am He
Of Calvary.
And when thou, too, hast borne thy cross thro' life,
And won the strife ,
Like me, shalt thou emerge from death and rise
With this great prize:
"Life's raiment cleansed with precious blood of mine;
And radiant shine
Beside my Father's throne, three lilies in thine hair,
As crown shalt wear."
Published in Colored American Magazine, April 1901