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Legacy: Verse of Jupiter Hammon

While in Hartford in 1782, Jupiter Hammon completed a poem that addressed slave children directly about the present life and the hereafter. It was titled "A Poem for Children with Thoughts on Death." Here are two stanzas:

Remember youth the time is short,
Improve the present day.
And pray that God may guide your thoughts,

And teach your lips to pray.

To pray unto the most high God,
And beg restraining grace.
Then by the power of his word,
You'll see the Savior's face.