Abraham Lincoln (1809 -1865)

Born under no lucky star,    
But dynamic in his dreams,  
He fought his way to Luck:  
“From log cabin to White House.”

No soul on earth supreme over another-
Equality every man’s birthright
and treasure –
Black and white, brown and red  
Make no difference –
This nation cannot exist half-slave,
half-free:  
From his voice these bold truths rang out.  

He had the gift to dream of union,  
The courage and capacity to fight,  
The confidence to win,  
The patience that knew no flagging.  
Faith in God’s Justice was his stamina,  
Faith in God was his might.  

Natural the affinity of  
vision-luminous souls,  
So Emerson could say of Lincoln:  
“His heart was as great as the world,  
But there was no room in it  
to hold a wrong.”

“Force is all-conquering,  
But its victories are short-lived.”
Love is all-conquering,  
And its victories live on forever.
  
What is really important?  
Are we God’s or is God ours?  
The idealist in Lincoln reveals:

“We trust, Sir, that God is on our side.
It is more important to know  
That we are on God’s side.”

Excerpt from “America in Her Depths“
by: Sri Chinmoy

– Abraham Lincoln