Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight
Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight is a 1914 poem by American poet Vachel Lindsay. It portrays Abraham Lincoln walking the streets of Springfield, Illinois, stirred from his eternal sleep, a man, who even in death, is burdened by the tragedies of the modern world. At the time the poem was written, Lindsay was depressed by knowledge of the blood and death exacted by World War I.
The poem was included in Louis Untermeyer's anthology, Modern American Poetry, published in 1919. This poem is now used in many schools and districts as an inspirational figure of the Civil War, as well as United States history.Settings
In 1953 composer Roy Harris wrote a chamber cantata based upon this poem, scored for mezzo-soprano, violin, cello, and piano. Three settings by African American composer Florence Price were rediscovered in 2009.
