SWEET as the honored name Their storm-tossed shallop bore, The memory of our fathers' fame, And green forevermore. Peace to their hallowed graves, That consecrate the ground, Where first a refuge from the waves Their pilgrim footsteps found. What mortal sighs and tears Swelled on that wintry sod! How cast they all their cares and fears And every hope on God! And wild as winds, that sweep Along the savage shore, Rose thoughts of homes beyond the deep, Their pleasant homes no more. But grander visions greet Their prophet-lighted eyes,— They trod the world beneath their feet, And marched to join the skies. Triumphant over earth, Faith, that their spirits fed, Beamed, like a gem of priceless worth, On each uplifted head. No flaming sign they sought To light their venturous road, They owned the unseen Hand that wrought, And in His strength abode. But to their souls' desire,— Though dark to mortal view,— The daily cloud and nightly fire Shone, clear as Jacob knew. Vain doubt, and fear, and care, The desert and the flood,— They knew the God they served was there, And in His name they stood. Thoughts, more than human great, Came to their spirits' call; And thus they built the stable STATE, In Him, their hope, their all. And far as rolls the swell Of Time's returnless sea, Where empires rise and nations dwell, Their Pilgrim fame shall be! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME by PATRICK SARSFIELD GILMORE AMERICA by JAMES MONROE WHITFIELD THE SONG OF THE DIAL by PETER AIREY A LAMENT FOR PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN FIDELIA ARGUING WITH HER SELF ON THE DIFFICULTY FINDING TRUE RELIGION by JANE BARKER SONNETS OF MANHOOD: 35. BALACLAVA by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) |