 | Poems of home and country |  |
MY NATIVE LAND.
We wander far o'er land and sea;
We seek the old and new;
We try the lowly and the great,
The many and the few.
O'er States at hand and realms remote,
With curious quest we roam,
But find the fairest spot on earth
Just in our native home.
We seek the old and new;
We try the lowly and the great,
The many and the few.
O'er States at hand and realms remote,
With curious quest we roam,
But find the fairest spot on earth
Just in our native home.
187
We hold communion, high and sweet,
With men in ancient lore;
By day, by night, with reverent eyes,
O'er volumes old we pore,—
But Rome, and Greece, and Orient lands,
And heroes far away,
Great in their times, still lack the charm
That lights our own to-day.
With men in ancient lore;
By day, by night, with reverent eyes,
O'er volumes old we pore,—
But Rome, and Greece, and Orient lands,
And heroes far away,
Great in their times, still lack the charm
That lights our own to-day.
We seek for landscapes, fair and grand,
Seen through sweet summer haze;
Helvetia's mountains, piled with snow,
Italia's sunset rays,
And lake, and stream, and crag, and dell,
And new and fairer flowers,
We own them rich, and fair,—but not
More grand, more fair, than ours.
Seen through sweet summer haze;
Helvetia's mountains, piled with snow,
Italia's sunset rays,
And lake, and stream, and crag, and dell,
And new and fairer flowers,
We own them rich, and fair,—but not
More grand, more fair, than ours.
With solemn air we tread, where trod
The feet of ancient men,
And fill old palaces and courts
With echoing sounds again;
Temple and forum, bath and arch,
Un-earthed, in glory stand,—
These with admiring gaze we view,
But crave our native land.
The feet of ancient men,
And fill old palaces and courts
With echoing sounds again;
Temple and forum, bath and arch,
Un-earthed, in glory stand,—
These with admiring gaze we view,
But crave our native land.
We hear with joy the golden speech
Of men of high renown;
We see with praise the jewelled wealth
Of sceptre, mace, and crown,—
But dearer far the golden words
That made a people free;
And crown and sceptre pale before
A nation's liberty.
Of men of high renown;
We see with praise the jewelled wealth
Of sceptre, mace, and crown,—
But dearer far the golden words
That made a people free;
And crown and sceptre pale before
A nation's liberty.
188
O land, where saint and pilgrim came,
With loftiest purpose fraught,
Nurtured in hardship, toil and faith,
O land, divinely taught;
As streams the light from headland tower,
Guide o'er the stormy sea,
So hope, to all the oppressed, beams forth,
Dear native land, from thee.
With loftiest purpose fraught,
Nurtured in hardship, toil and faith,
O land, divinely taught;
As streams the light from headland tower,
Guide o'er the stormy sea,
So hope, to all the oppressed, beams forth,
Dear native land, from thee.
| Poems of home and country | |