Classic Poem

Lift, lift the eagle banner high,
Our guide to fame; —
On ocean's breezes bid it fly,
Like meteors wafting through the sky
Their pomp of flame,
Till, wide on every sea unfurled,
It tell to an admiring world
Our name.

O, proudly burns its beacon light
On victory's path!
Thro' freedom's dawn, thro' danger's night,
Onward, still onward, rolling bright,
It swept in wrath; —
Still lightning-like, to him who dares
Confront the terror of our stars,
Its scath.

Still heavenward mounts the generous flame,
And never tires: —
Does Envy dare insult our name,
Or lurking Falsehood brand with shame
Our buried sires?
The armed Colossus thunders by,
Wide wave our stripes, — the dastard lie