The Decay Of A People

William Gilmore Simms 1806 (Charleston) – 1870 (Charleston)



THIS the true sign of ruin to a race—  
 It undertakes no march, and day by day  
Drowses in camp, or, with the laggard’s pace,  
 Walks sentry o’er possessions that decay;  
 Destined, with sensible waste, to fleet away;—
For the first secret of continued power  
 Is the continued conquest;—all our sway  
Hath surety in the uses of the hour;  
If that we waste, in vain walled town and lofty tower!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

22 sec read
306

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABBCBCC
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 412
Words 74
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 9

William Gilmore Simms

William Gilmore Simms was a poet, novelist and historian from the American South. more…

All William Gilmore Simms poems | William Gilmore Simms Books

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