Uncle Tom

Uncle Tom is a legend and a dream.
Uncle Tom is a groan and a scream.
Uncle Tom is a lash on the back.
Uncle Tom is a man who’s black.
   But Uncle Tom
   Was long ago.
   Gone is the lash
   And the slaver’s blow.
   Ours is the freedom
   Tom did not know—
So tend your freedom that the lash and the pain
And his head bowed down be not in vain.
Tend your freedom that tomorrow may see
Uncle Tom’s children wholly free!