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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE COSSACK by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR

First Line: THE COSSACK! THE COSSACK! HIS STEED IS HIS THRONE
Last Line: HO! DRINK TO THE COSSACK, FROM BORDER TO BORDER!
Subject(s): COSSACKS; RUSSIA; SOVIET UNION; RUSSIANS;

THE Cossack! the Cossack! his steed is his throne;
On the steppe and the desert his glory is known;
For he sweeps like the wind from the camp to the fray,
And woe to the foe and the flying that day!
'False Pagan!' he cries, 'are you slave — are you Shah —
Now die by this lance, or take oath to the Czar!'

The Cossack! the Cossack! a flame of the South
Is the glance of his eye, is the word of his mouth,
For the steed that he rides — for the saint he implores —
And, fairer, and dearer, the girl he adores.
The maiden's fond lover — the Czar's faithful warder —
Ho! drink to the Cossack, from border to border!



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