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That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare,
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s "Concord Hymn" was written at the request of the Battle Monument Committee. At Concord’s Independence Day celebration on July 4, 1837 it was first read, then sung as a hymn by a local choir.

I have studied Emerson’s works and believe the Concord Hymn is his finest poem. The poem exalts the patriots who fought for our freedom. Yet it also respects the English "foe" who also deserve our salute as brave warriors.

Emerson's use of the word "shaft" is very artful. It describes the monument being raised to the heavens in tribute, and yet it also suggests the shaft in the ground where the heroes are laid to rest.

If you have not yet visited this site in Concord, Massachusetts, you owe to yourself to do so. It will surely stir the heart of any FReeper.