Abraham Lincoln's Poem, "My Childhood-Home I See Again"

Abraham Lincoln wasn't exactly a professional poet, but he was a deeply sensitive writer who often turned to verse to process grief and nostalgia. His most famous original poem, written in 1846 after visiting his childhood home in Indiana, captures a haunting, somber mood. 

 This special reading by fellow poet Joe A Pasquale.  

"My Childhood-Home I See Again" By Abraham Lincoln (Excerpt) 

My childhood-home I see again, 

And gladden with the view; 

And still as mem'ries crowd my brain, 

There's sadness in it too. 

O memory! thou mid-way world 

'Twixt Earth and Paradise, 

Where things decayed, and loved ones lost In dreamy shadows rise. 

And freed from all that's earthly vile, 

Seem hallowed, pure, and bright, 

Like scenes in some enchanted isle, 

All bathed in liquid light. 

Lincoln wrote this during a political campaign. Returning to the place where his mother and sister were buried triggered a "poetic reflex." It reveals a side of Lincoln many people forget: the melancholy dreamer who was obsessed with the passage of time and the finality of death. 

While he wrote his own verse, Lincoln was most famous for reciting "O Why Should the Spirit of Mortal Be Proud?" by William Knox. He quoted it so often that many people at the time actually thought he wrote it. It’s a bit of a "memento mori"—a reminder that no matter how powerful we are, we all end up in the same place.

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Joseph A Pasquale is an American author who writes in a variety of literary genres, including poetry, memoir, and literary fiction. ​

Pasquale is the author of literary novel, Dear Sparrow; also The LOVE JUNKY series spanning over 3000 pages (unpublished). Over 8 novels in the series including LOVE JUNKY LA.​ His "Upon Them A Childhood Cast," novel was completed in 2024, 800 pages. 

Pasquale's poetry collection, "Kindred Spirits: Horse Racing Name Poems" was added to the national archive in the National Horse Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. ​He is also the creator of Horse Racing Name Art Poems and authors their entire creation including conceptualizations. ​

He is the author of well over a dozen unpublished novels and many poetry and short story collections. ​

Pasquale was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts and studied the art of writing literary fiction under bestselling-author, Ken Eulo. Ken Eulo's BLOODSTONE was his first purchase in 1982. 

Pasquale is an active member of the Worcester County Poetry Association. ​Pasquale is related to Andrea Tempesta (his aunt) who penned the Worcester novel, "Afloat a Stranger's Shore." 

He has the only surviving print and digital copy of the novel. ​Pasquale also has the surviving copy of the unpublished autobiographical fictional Worcester novel, "BLACKHAWKS (The Children Sad)" by Pasquale's father's best friend, Larry J Sandners. 

​Pasquale is also known as The Horse Racing Poet and has another website: www.horseracingpoet.com/blog www.josephapasquale.com