Now from their slumber waking, -- The long sleep men thought death -- The War Gods rise, inhaling deep The cannon's fiery breath! Their mighty arms uplifted, Their gleaming eyes aglow With the steadfast light of battle, As it blazed long years ago! Now from the clouds they summon The Captains of the Past, Still sailing in their astral ships The star-lit spaces vast; And from Valhalla's peaceful plains The Great Commanders come, And marshal again their armies To the beat of the muffled drum. His phantom sails unfurling McDonough sweeps amain Where once his Yankee sailors fought The battle of Champlain! And over Erie's waters, Again his flagship sweeps, While Perry on the quarter-deck His endless vigil keeps. Silent as mists that hover When twilight shadows fall, The ghosts of the royal armies Foregather at the call; And their glorious chiefs are with them, From conflicts lost or won, As they gather round one mighty shade, The shade of Washington! Side by side with the warships That sail for the hostile fleet, The ships of the Past are sailing And the dauntless comrades meet; And standing shoulder to shoulder, The armed spirits come, And march with our own battalions To the beat of the muffled drum! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VALENTINES TO MY MOTHER: 1880 by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI ASTROPHEL AND STELLA: 24 by PHILIP SIDNEY CRADLE SONG (TO A TUNE OF BLAKE'S): 2 by ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE THE ANGEL OF PATIENCE by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER MARSH MUSIC by KENNETH SLADE ALLING THE BATTLE OF THE PIGMIES AND THE CRANES by JAMES BEATTIE |