(An Appreciation)
We are gathered here from the ends of the earth,
The children of Teuton and Celt;
The children, too, of Latin and Slav
At Liberty’s shrine have knelt.
America is proud to take
From out of bondage and strife,
And weave them all into one great whole,
These strands of human life.
She’ll dye them all in the self-same red
Of Liberty’s crimson hue;
And place them as the glorious stars
On Freedom’s field of blue.
And we, the children of all the earth,
To thee, poet of all times,
Bring honor, and laurel, and love as well—
And crown thee, king of rhymes.
Thou brought us to the very homes
Of Saxon, Dane and Moor,
And sweetly sang thy choicest lays
Alike to rich and poor.
Thou didst act well, thy every part,
On this brief stage of life;
Thou taught us too, our parts to play
In peaceful work, or strife.
Renowned bard of Albion’s land
America bids thee rise
Like Phœnix, fabled from of old—
Immortal, to the skies.