 | Poems by John Howard Bryant |  |
195
HYMN SUNG AT THE DEDICATION OF THE HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING
O'er these broad plains so rich and fair,
But late the untutored savage trod;
No trace of cultured life was seen
To crown the smooth unfurrowed sod.
But late the untutored savage trod;
No trace of cultured life was seen
To crown the smooth unfurrowed sod.
Then came the restless Saxon tide,
Resistless, broad and deep and strong;
That on its bright, free, crested wave,
New life and learning bore along.
Resistless, broad and deep and strong;
That on its bright, free, crested wave,
New life and learning bore along.
Then rose the village, Church and School,
And rural homes came thick and fast;
And stately hall and lofty dome,
Are reared for learning's use at last.
And rural homes came thick and fast;
And stately hall and lofty dome,
Are reared for learning's use at last.
The light divine of Palestine,
The lore of Egypt, Greece and Rome,
The mighty thoughts of modern minds,
Shall cluster here and find a home.
The lore of Egypt, Greece and Rome,
The mighty thoughts of modern minds,
Shall cluster here and find a home.
And here shall rich and poor alike,
Be nurtured for the world's great strife,
And hence go forth, with earnest hearts,
To lead the Nation's upward life.
Be nurtured for the world's great strife,
And hence go forth, with earnest hearts,
To lead the Nation's upward life.
196
No more shall minds of native power
Be lost amid a herd of slaves,
No future Milton's lips be mute,
No Cromwells fill unhonored graves.
Be lost amid a herd of slaves,
No future Milton's lips be mute,
No Cromwells fill unhonored graves.
| Poems by John Howard Bryant | |