Betwixt Two Seas :: :: University of Virginia Library

Wash'd by the waves that have kept her free
From the curse of a foreign thrall,
Of the lands that be by the wild North Sea
She was one of the least of all.

But her sons drew fire from her cloudy sky,
Ever eager to dare and do,
And their hearts beat high as the years went by
With a longing for pastures new;

To journey afar, by land and sea,
To endure, to achieve, to know;
To hear and see, to fight and free,
And to gain new wisdom so;

To brave new dangers by night and day;
New heights to discern and climb;
Wild men to sway, and wild beasts to slay;—
This came with the throb of Time;

Till she look'd and saw, with a mother's pride,
As her zenith of pow'r drew near,
That on ev'ry tide did their galleys ride,
Whilst their homes were in every sphere;

And her sons were as kings, uncrown'd, and crown'd,
And her daughters, the brides of kings,
And a chain was wound the whole world round
That was welded of English rings;

And her wealth increased without let or check,
And her cities throve and spread,
Till, from only a speck, as of white foam-fleck,
She had grown to a world instead.

What if, since the dawn of her pow'r began,
Her mien has been proud and high?
She fears no man in the wide world's span,
So why should she cringe and lie?

She seeks no strife, and owes no man aught,
She would rest on her own green sward,
And turn her to thought, who has wrought, and taught,
And breasted both fire and sword;

But why should we credit the craven lie
That our England stands alone,
When her brave sons die under every sky
And have empire in every zone,

Where her flag, whether winds blow foul or fair,
Waves high against grey or blue,
And why need she care for Wolf, Eagle, or Bear,
If her own Lion-cubs stand true?

1897.