Classic Poem

One hundred and twenty-nine years ago,
This was a memorable day:
In the swaddling-cloth of starry flag,
Our Uncle Samuel lay!

The Lords of the North, the Kings of the East,
The royal rulers of earth,
All watched from afar with curious eyes,
The infant prodigy's birth.

They watched him fight for the right to live,
They saw him win pow'r and pelf,
And — to conquer his weakness and be a man —
They saw him fight with himself!

And yet again they watched him fight
In a neighbor's righteous cause,
And they see that neighbor free to-day,
Under her people's laws!

O great indeed is our Uncle Sam
And his greatness ne'er shall cease!
For greatest of all his conquests won,
Are his victories of peace!

A Nation given to the world,
A giant's task begun,
Show what our Uncle Sam can do
In an orbit of the sun.

Ten years from date he'll amputate
The Western Hemisphere,
And siamese the mighty seas
To bring the distant near!

'Tis said his nieces and nephews boast
Too much their relationship;
But who'll condemn us, this Day of Days,
If our good manners trip.

For from Plymouth Rock to the Golden Gate,
From Alaska's snowy clime,
From the sunny shores of the southern gulf,
There comes a song sublime!

From the Occident, and the far-away isles
That gem the Orient sea,
There swells to-day that song of songs: —
" MY COUNTRY 'TIS OF THEE ! "

And so, with loving, loyal hearts,
We drain the sparkling dram
To the glorious toast heard 'round the world: —
GOD BLESS OUR UNCLE SAM !