 | [Poems by Payne in] John Howard Payne ... his life and writings |  |
303
ODE
FOR THE THIRTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE.
When erst our Sires their sails unfurl'd,
To brave the trackless sea,
They boldly sought an unknown world,
Determin'd to be free!
They saw their homes recede afar,
The pale blue hills diverge,
And, Liberty their guiding star,
They plough'd the swelling surge!
To brave the trackless sea,
They boldly sought an unknown world,
Determin'd to be free!
They saw their homes recede afar,
The pale blue hills diverge,
And, Liberty their guiding star,
They plough'd the swelling surge!
No splendid hope their wand'rings cheer'd;
No lust of wealth beguiled;—
They left the towers that Plenty rear'd
To seek the desert wild;
The climes where proud luxuriance shone
Exchang'd for forests drear;
The splendor of a Tyrant's throne
For honest Freedom here!
No lust of wealth beguiled;—
They left the towers that Plenty rear'd
To seek the desert wild;
The climes where proud luxuriance shone
Exchang'd for forests drear;
The splendor of a Tyrant's throne
For honest Freedom here!
Though hungry wolves the nightly prowl
Around their log-hut took;
Though savages with hideous howl
Their wild-wood shelter shook;
Though tomahawks around them glared,—
To Fear could such hearts yield?
No! God, for whom they danger dared,
In danger was their shield!
Around their log-hut took;
Though savages with hideous howl
Their wild-wood shelter shook;
Though tomahawks around them glared,—
To Fear could such hearts yield?
No! God, for whom they danger dared,
In danger was their shield!
When giant Power, with blood-stain'd crest,
Here grasp'd his gory lance,
And dared the warriors of the West
Embattled to advance,—
Our young Columbia sprang, alone
(In God her only trust),
And humbled, with a sling and stone,
This monster to the dust!
Here grasp'd his gory lance,
And dared the warriors of the West
Embattled to advance,—
Our young Columbia sprang, alone
(In God her only trust),
And humbled, with a sling and stone,
This monster to the dust!
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Thus nobly rose our greater Rome,
Bright daughter of the skies—
Of Liberty the hallow'd home,
Whose turrets proudly rise,—
Whose sails now whiten every sea,
On every wave unfurl'd;
Form'd to be happy, great, and free,
The Eden of the world!
Bright daughter of the skies—
Of Liberty the hallow'd home,
Whose turrets proudly rise,—
Whose sails now whiten every sea,
On every wave unfurl'd;
Form'd to be happy, great, and free,
The Eden of the world!
Shall we, the sons of valiant Sires,
Such glories tamely stain?
Shall these rich vales, these splendid spires,
E'er brook a Monarch's reign?
No! If the Despot's iron hand
Must here a sceptre wave,
Raz'd be those glories from the land,
And be the land our grave!
Such glories tamely stain?
Shall these rich vales, these splendid spires,
E'er brook a Monarch's reign?
No! If the Despot's iron hand
Must here a sceptre wave,
Raz'd be those glories from the land,
And be the land our grave!
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