England, thy foes make boast of thy decline; Thy world-wide commerce slackens its old pace, Thy sea-girt jewel holds a second place, Now that our masters live along the Rhine, No! Leadership in freedom still is thine. Mazzini, Marx -- yes, Manuel, you embrace. Prophets and kings, in exile, seek thy face And live secure beneath thy sheltering vine. If mind and merchants make a new race great, That barters freedom for a tyrant's smile -- Then leap to studies; arm with conquering thought, That nothing may destroy the only state Where tyrants cannot reach or spies beguile And justice is a goddess still unbought. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ALIENS (TO YOU - EVERYWHERE! DEDICATED) by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON INTERRACIAL by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE DIRTY OLD MAN by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM THE WELCOME TO ALEXANDRA by ALFRED TENNYSON THE JACOBITE ON TOWER HILL by GEORGE WALTER THORNBURY LITTLE JOHN AND THE RED FRIAR; A LAY OF SHERWOOD by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN |