Claude McKay's Early Poetry: A Digital CollectionMain MenuIntroduction: About this SiteAmardeep Singh, Lehigh UniversityConstab Ballads (1912) -- Digital EditionClaude McKay's "Constab Ballads"Songs of Jamaica (1912): Digital EditionBook of poetry by Claude McKay. Preface by Walter Jekyll.Early Uncollected Poetry (1911-1922)Uncollected Poems by Claude McKay published in Jamaican, British, and American magazinesWorkers Dreadnought PoetrySpring in New Hampshire (1920): Digital EditionHarlem Shadows (1922): Digital EditionHarlem Shadows Digital EditionSelected Poems of Claude McKay (1953)Approximating the Table of Contents of "Selected Poems of Claude McKay"Criticism and Contextual EssaysWorks CitedWorks Cited for "Claude McKay's Early Poetry (1912-1922)"TEI/XML Editions (in progress/coming soon)Links to TEI versions of these textsAmardeep Singhc185e79df2fca428277052b90841c4aba30044e1
George Gordon to the Oppressed Natives
12017-07-07T11:09:37+00:00Amardeep Singhc185e79df2fca428277052b90841c4aba30044e1691Poem by Claude McKay Published in Daily Gleaner May 3 1912plain2017-07-07T11:09:37+00:00Amardeep Singhc185e79df2fca428277052b90841c4aba30044e1
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12017-07-10T17:44:21+00:00Gordon to the Oppressed Natives2Poem by Claude McKay. Published in Daily Gleaner May 3 1912plain2017-07-10T17:45:21+00:00 [Editor's note]
O, you sons of Afric's soil, Dyin' in a foreign land, Crushed beneat' de moil and toil, Break, break de oppressors' hand!
Wake de lion in your veins, De gorilla in your blood; Show dem dat you ha' some brains, Though you may be course and rude.
Wilberforce has set you free, Sharpe an' Buxton worked for you; Trample on de tyrannny Still continued by a few!
Keep before you Clarkson's name! Ef your groans caan' win de fight, Jes' to put do'n dis great shame Lawful 'tis to use our might.
England paid you' ransom down, Meant to save you from the pain; Now, freed men o' England's crown, Burst de cruel tyrant's chain!
Never would an English mind Bow beneat' such tyranny; Rise, O people of my kind! Struggle, struggle to be free!
Shake de burden off your backs, Show de tyrants dat you're strong; Fight for freedom's rights, you blacks, Ring de slaves' old battle-song!
Gordon's heart here bleeds for you, He will lead to victory; We will conquer every foe, Or togeder gladly die.
