Ay, tear her tattered ensign down! <br /> Long has it waved on high, <br /> And many an eye has danced to see <br /> That banner in the sky; <br /> Beneath it rung the battle shout, <br /> And burst the cannon's roar; -- <br /> The meteor of the ocean air <br /> Shall sweep the clouds no more. <br /> Her deck, once red with heroes' blood, <br /> Where knelt the vanquished foe, <br /> When winds were hurrying o'er the flood, <br /> And waves were white below, <br /> No more shall feel the victor's tread, <br /> Or know the conquered knee; -- <br /> The harpies of the shore shall pluck <br /> The eagle of the sea! <br /> <br /> Oh, better that her shattered hulk <br /> Should sink beneath the wave; <br /> Her thunders shook the mighty deep, <br /> And there should be her grave; <br /> Nail to the mast her holy flag, <br /> Set every threadbare sail, <br /> And give her to the god of storms, <br /> The lightning and the gale!<br /><br />Oliver Wendell Holmes<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/old-ironsides/
