WHERE, girt around by savage foes, <br />Our nurturing Mother's shelter rose, <br />Behold, the lofty temple stands, <br />Reared by her children's grateful hands! <br /> <br />Firm are the pillars that defy <br />The volleyed thunders of the sky; <br />Sweet are the summer wreaths that twine <br />With bud and flower our martyrs' shrine. <br /> <br />The hues their tattered colors bore <br />Fall mingling on the sunlit floor <br />Till evening spreads her spangled pall, <br />And wraps in shade the storied hall. <br /> <br />Firm were their hearts in danger's hour, <br />Sweet was their manhood's morning flower, <br />Their hopes with rainbow hues were bright,-- <br />How swiftly winged the sudden night! <br /> <br />O Mother! on thy marble page <br />Thy children read, from age to age, <br />The mighty word that upward leads <br />Through noble thought to nobler deeds. <br /> <br />TRUTH, heaven-born TRUTH, their fearless guide, <br />Thy saints have lived, thy heroes died; <br />Our love has reared their earthly shrine, <br />Their glory be forever thine!<br /><br />Oliver Wendell Holmes<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hymn-for-the-dedication-of-memorial-hall-at-cambridge-june-23-1874/
