Poem · Ambrose Bierce

Freedom

“Freedom” by Ambrose Bierce: full text of the poem (16 lines, 78 words), quatrains. Public domain.

Freedom, as every schoolboy knows,
Once shrieked as Kosciusko fell;
On every wind, indeed, that blows
I hear her yell.

She screams whenever monarchs meet,
And parliaments as well,
To bind the chains about her feet
And toll her knell.

And when the sovereign people cast
The votes they cannot spell,
Upon the pestilential blast
Her clamors swell.

For all to whom the power's given
To sway or to compel,
Among themselves apportion Heaven
And give her Hell.

Typesetting this poem in a book

Trim (11 pt)Characters per lineLongest line
5 x 8 in55 charactersFits
5.5 x 8.5 in Digest62 charactersFits
6 x 9 in US Trade67 charactersFits
7 x 10 in Executive81 charactersFits

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