 | My Mind and its Thoughts, in Sketches, Fragments, and Essays |  |
PROPHECY,
INSCRIBED TO COMMODORE JOHN RODGERS, OF THE AMERICAN NAVY.
Intrepid Veteran of the wave,
Rodgers! whose fame could terror bring
To them, the boldest of the brave,
The chosen of their Patriarch king.
Rodgers! whose fame could terror bring
To them, the boldest of the brave,
The chosen of their Patriarch king.
Veteran! ere time's imperious sway,
Has brought the high meridian hour,
Or changed one jetty lock to grey,
Or touched thee with his withering power.
Has brought the high meridian hour,
Or changed one jetty lock to grey,
Or touched thee with his withering power.
Attend, for thou art glory's son,
Born mid the battle's blaze to shine,
And known, when danger's deed is done,
To make the mildest mercies thine.
Born mid the battle's blaze to shine,
And known, when danger's deed is done,
To make the mildest mercies thine.
Hear what the poet-prophet knows,
Triumph is thine, and added fame,
Even ere the annual summer glows,
The deadly contest meets thy claim.
Triumph is thine, and added fame,
Even ere the annual summer glows,
The deadly contest meets thy claim.
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The green Atlantic felt thy sway,
As erst from dawn to fading light,
Thy hero helm's impetuous way,
Pursued the foe's elusive flight.
As erst from dawn to fading light,
Thy hero helm's impetuous way,
Pursued the foe's elusive flight.
That green Atlantic is thy field,
There, though redoubling hosts assail;
The Ocean's Lord to thee shall yield,
And thee humane in victory, hail.
There, though redoubling hosts assail;
The Ocean's Lord to thee shall yield,
And thee humane in victory, hail.
| My Mind and its Thoughts, in Sketches, Fragments, and Essays | |