My native State, to thee I sing; To thee, among whose echoing hills, From luring lilt of laughing rills, And many a song-bird on the wing, My spirit caught the rapturous thrills Of life's awakening. Fresh from the haunts of halcyon days And countless paths that wind between, Where Memory dwells o'er every scene That greets her long and wistful gaze, I bring to thee a garland green With gratitude and praise. I love thy pathways that were trod By valiant hosts whom patriots prize For what was wrought beneath thy skies; I love the fields whose trembling sod Received their crimson sacrifice To freedom and to God! I love thy western mountain-wall; The sapphire mist that lingers there; The cliffs that tinge the noonday's glare; The issuing flood, whose charms recall Its dulcet name, the Delaware -- I love them one and all. I love thy stretch of storm-swept shore; Its chastened hues and beauteous lines; Its bordering plains of singing pines; Its battling waves that inland pour On voices wet with ocean wines Their diapason roar. I love thy fields of rustling grain; I love the hamlets on thy hills; I love the music of thy mills; I love thy cities of the plain; I love thy folk, their friendship fills My heart with endless gain! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LITTLE GOLDENHAIR by F. BURGE SMITH TO A BIRCH TREE by KENNETH SLADE ALLING WRITTEN FOR A LADY'S COMMON-PLACE BOOK by JOHN GARDINER CALKINS BRAINARD HOME, SWEET HOME WITH VARIATIONS: 1. ORIGINAL THEME AS PAYNE WROTE IT by HENRY CUYLER BUNNER MASQUE AT THE MARRIAGE OF THE LORD HAYES: TO THEOPHILUS HOWARD by THOMAS CAMPION TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 4. FORMS ETERNAL AS THE MOUNTAINS by EDWARD CARPENTER |