As Columbia's brave scions, in anger array'd, <br />Once defy'd a proud monarch and built a new nation; <br />'Gainst their brothers of Britain unsheath'd the sharp blade <br />That hath ne'er met defeat nor endur'd desecration; <br />So must we in this hour <br />Show our valour and pow'r, <br />And dispel the black perils that over us low'r: <br />Whilst the sons of Britannia, no longer our foes, <br />Will rejoice in our triumphs and strengthen our blows! <br /> <br />See the banners of Liberty float in the breeze <br />That plays light o'er the regions our fathers defended; <br />Hear the voice of the million resound o'er the leas, <br />As deeds of the past are proclaim'd and commended; <br />And in splendour on high <br />Where our flags proudly fly, <br />See the folds we tore down flung again to the sky: <br />For the Emblem of England, in kinship unfurl'd, <br />Shall divide with Old Glory the praise of the world! <br /> <br />Bury'd now are the hatreds of subject and King, <br />And the strife that once sunder'd an Empire hath vanish'd. <br />With the fame of the Saxon the heavens shall ring <br />As the vultures of darkness are baffled and banish'd; <br />And the broad British sea, <br />Of her enemies free, <br />Shall in tribute bow gladly, Columbia to thee: <br />For the friends of the Right, in the field side by side, <br />Form a fabric of Freedom no hand can divide!<br /><br />Howard Phillips Lovecraft<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ode-for-july-fourth-1917/
