 | Poems of home and country |  |
PATRIOT'S DAY.
APRIL 19, 1775.
Praise to the brave and true!
Men prompt to dare and do,—
To do, or die;
Blazoned on history's page,
Men for their stormy age,
Fearless the fight to wage,
Scorning to fly.
Men prompt to dare and do,—
To do, or die;
Blazoned on history's page,
Men for their stormy age,
Fearless the fight to wage,
Scorning to fly.
They, with prophetic eye,
Saw, through the lurid sky,
The goal they sought,—
A nation of the free,
A land of liberty,
Stretching from sea to sea,—
O glorious thought!
Saw, through the lurid sky,
The goal they sought,—
A nation of the free,
A land of liberty,
Stretching from sea to sea,—
O glorious thought!
They hailed the coming state,
Patient to toil and wait,
Suffered and bled;
Death strode o'er hill and plain;
With hunger, cold, and pain;
Hope rose, to sink again,
Till years had fled.
Patient to toil and wait,
Suffered and bled;
139
With hunger, cold, and pain;
Hope rose, to sink again,
Till years had fled.
But forward, onward still,
They of the iron will
Pressed, undismayed.
A nation's love they claim;
Born to immortal fame,
What lustre lights each name,
Never to fade!
They of the iron will
Pressed, undismayed.
A nation's love they claim;
Born to immortal fame,
What lustre lights each name,
Never to fade!
Hail, patriots! whose brave hands
Over these fair, free lands
Their flag unfurled;
Men, by all times admired,
To noble deeds inspired,
By whom “the shot” was fired,
“Heard round the world.”
Over these fair, free lands
Their flag unfurled;
Men, by all times admired,
To noble deeds inspired,
By whom “the shot” was fired,
“Heard round the world.”
O sons of noble sires,
Who, amid war's dread fires,
To triumph rode!
Proud of the deeds they wrought,
With countless blessings fraught,
Cherish the land they bought,—
The gift of God.
Who, amid war's dread fires,
To triumph rode!
Proud of the deeds they wrought,
With countless blessings fraught,
Cherish the land they bought,—
The gift of God.
April 19, 1894.
| Poems of home and country | |