Classic Poem

Ancient of days! Thy prophets old
Declared Thee also Lord of war;
And sacred chroniclers have told
Of kings whom Thou didst battle for.

Ancient and honorable men
Have always kept the sword in sight,
Against a day when purchased pen
Or venal voices poison right.

If kings oppress or disobey
Their people's will, the axe must fall;
Or should a people madly stray
From judgment in their council-hall,

Till wisdom, wavering, yields at length,
And love is lost on either side,
Thy dread arbitrament, O Strength!
Every strong nation must abide.

When Heaven's artillery shakes the skies
Death and wild ruin follow fast,
That purer elements may rise
Soon as the storm is overpast;

When armies by Potomac's flood
Menaced the fabric of the free,
Our eagle's young ones sucked up blood,
And where the slain are there was She.

Now London sends her loyal sons
To grace our gathering: clarion! fife!
Sound England welcome! drums and guns!
Ring notes of gladness—not of strife.

That placid quiet all men seek,
Long may it crown a land restored!
But Massachusetts! be not weak,
If wronged, to seek it with a sword.