The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 21, July 1917 - April, 1918 Page: 156

The Southwestern Historical Quarterly

CONTEMPORARY POETRY OF THE TEXAN REVOLU-
TION
ALEX DIENST
The poems presented in this article have been carefully sought
for by me in the past twenty years. With the exception of three
of them, I have no knowledge of any of them having been re-
printed after their original appearance in print. While I have
found about one hundred poems printed during the days of the
Republic of Texas, in this section I have only included those
that appeared in print during 1836, the "heroic period of Texas
history," and the year of the declaration of Texan independence.
It is barely possible that two or three of these poems have never
been in print. I possess the original manuscripts, and from
marginal notes thereon, I should judge that they had appeared
in some contemporaneous publication in 1836, but, if so, I have
not located them.
While not claiming to be a judge of poetical literature, I am
quite sure that any patriot, especially in these days of universal
patriotism, will agree with me that these poems are not only
meritorious, but are far above the average in thought, rhythm,
vivacity, energy of expression, and poetical expression.
It is a trite saying that the poet has a prophetic insight. A
careful perusal of the verses here presented will show that not
a prophecy here foretold, or a hope for the future grandeur and
perpetuity and liberty and prosperity of the then struggling in-
fant Republic of Texas, but that Time has fulfilled, "pressed
down, good measure, running over."
Not a poem bearing on the subject of the war has been ex-
cluded. The collection is as complete for the year 1836 as I
could make it. It would have been an easy matter, and a pleas-
ure, for me to annotate each poem, and possibly enlighten some
readers whose study of Texas history may not have been so ex-
tensive as to understand fully every reference to Texas history
herein cited, but I believed that it would mar the beauty of the
poems to distract the reader's attention by a too promiscuous use
of notes. I, therefore, present them to the reader with only such

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