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Joseph Warren, M. D.

By Oliver Wendell Holmes

Topics: classic

Trained in the holy art whose lifted shield     Wards off the darts a never-slumbering foe,     By hearth and wayside lurking, waits to throw,     Oppression taught his helpful arm to wield     The slayer's weapon: on the murderous field     The fiery bolt he challenged laid him low,     Seeking its noblest victim. Even so     The charter of a nation must be sealed!     The healer's brow the hero's honors crowned,     From lowliest duty called to loftiest deed.     Living, the oak-leaf wreath his temples bound;     Dying, the conqueror's laurel was his meed,     Last on the broken ramparts' turf to bleed     Where Freedom's victory in defeat was found.

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Author:Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Trained in the holy art whose lifted shield..." by Oliver Wendell Holmes

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Oliver Wendell Holmes

About Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809–1894) was an American poet, physician, and essayist. His poems "Old Ironsides" and "The Chambered Nautilus" are American classics. He was part of the Fireside Poets group.

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