Classic Poem

When first from the land of the tyrant and slave
Our forefathers ventured to cross the wide ocean,
They kneeled as they came from the perilous wave,
And uttered their vows with an earnest devotion:
Bright Spirit! in thee
We will ever be free,
While thy sun gives its light
To the land and the sea,
And here on the storm-beaten rock we unite
To conquer or die for our God and our right.

Then deep in their bosoms they nourished the flame
That burst from their hearts in the moment of danger,
When proudly the minion of tyranny came,
Polluting their homes with the foot of the stranger.
Then they flew to the fight,
Where Liberty's light
Called the bold-hearted yeoman
To rise in his might,
And the hard hand of labor undauntedly gave
The welcome of death to the murdering slave.

Here first in the red field of battle they stood,
And fearlessly gathered the harvest of glory;
Here they first stamped the seal of their union in blood,
And imprinted their names on the records of story:
Here proudly again
We meet on the plain
Where England first tried
To enslave us in vain,
And, firm in their purpose, our fathers unfurled
Bright Liberty's flag to a wondering world.

Here, flushed with the high hopes of Freedom, we join
In an act of the purest and deepest devotion.
O, long may our children be drawn to this shrine,
By an instinct as sure as the tides of the ocean;
May they never forget
How their forefathers met,
And planted the green tree
That flourishes yet,
But, warm with the spirit of Liberty, raise
To the brave hearts who saved us, one chorus of praise.