"The Old South stands." LOUD through the still November air The clang and clash of fire-bells broke; From street to street, from square to square, Rolled sheets of flame and clouds of smoke. The marble structures reeled and fell, The iron pillars bowed like lead; But one lone spire rang on its bell Above the flames. Men passed, and said, "The Old South stands!" The gold moon, 'gainst a copper sky, Hung like a portent in the air, The midnight came, the wind rose high, And men stood speechless in despair. But, as the marble columns broke, And wider grew the chasm red, -- A seething gulf of flame and smoke, -- The firemen marked the spire and said, "The Old South stands!" Beyond the harbor, calm and fair, The sun came up through bars of gold, Then faded in a wannish glare, As flame and smoke still upward rolled. The princely structures, crowned with art, Where Commerce laid her treasures bare; The haunts of trade, the common mart, All vanished in the withering air, -- "The Old South stands!" "The Old South must be levelled soon To check the flames and save the street; Bring fuse and powder." But at noon The ancient fane still stood complete. The mitred flame had lipped the spire, The smoke its blackness o'er it cast; Then, hero-like, men fought the fire, And from each lip the watchword passed, -- "The Old South stands!' All night the red sea round it rolled, And o'er it fell the fiery rain: And, as each hour the old clock told, Men said, "'T will never strike again!" But still the dial-plate at morn Was crimsoned in the rising light. Long may it redden with the dawn, And mark the shading hours of night! Long may it stand! Long may it stand! where help was sought In weak and dark and doubtful days; Where freedom's lessons first were taught, And prayers of faith were turned to praise Where burned the first Shekinah's flame In God's new temples of the free; Long may it stand, in freedom's name, Like Israel's pillar by the sea! Long may it stand! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...NATURE'S QUESTIONING by THOMAS HARDY SANTA FILOMENA by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW FAST ANCHOR'D ETERNAL O LOVE! by WALT WHITMAN TO MISS F. B. ON ASKING FOR MRS. BARBAULD'S LOVE AND TIME by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD POSTHUMOUS REMORSE by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE TO LADY CHARLOTTYE GORDON; DRESSED IN A TARTAN SCOTCH BONNET by JAMES BEATTIE SONG OF THE STARS by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT NORTH WIND, SOUTH WIND by MARY BISHOP BULLARD TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 3. THE GREAT LEADER by EDWARD CARPENTER |