SPIRITS of patriots, hail in heaven again The flag for which ye fought and died, Now that its field, washed clear of every stain, Floats out in honest pride! Free blood flows through its scarlet veins once more, And brighter shine its silver bars; A deeper blue God's ether never wore Amongst the golden stars. See how our earthly constellation gleams; And backward, flash for flash, returns Its heavenly sisters their immortal beams With light that fires and burns, -- That burns because a moving soul is there, A living force, a shaping will, Whose law the fate-forecasting powers of air Acknowledge and fulfill. At length the day, by prophets seen of old, Flames on the crimsoned battlefields; Henceforth, O flag, no mortal bought and sold, Shall crouch beneath thy shade. That shame has vanished in the darkened past, With all the wild chaotic wrongs That held the struggling centuries shackled fast With fear's accursed thongs. Therefore, O patriot fathers, in your eyes I brandish thus our banner pure; Watch o'er us, bless us, from your peaceful skies, and make the issue sure! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SABBATH OF THE SOUL by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD THE TURNSTILE by WILLIAM BARNES ULTIMA THULE: THE CHAMBER OVER THE GATE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW TO WALTER LIONEL DE ROTHSCHILD ON HIS BAR-MITZVAH by LOUIS BARNETT ABRAHAMS I WOULD BE THE SUN by JOHANNA AMBROSIUS |