Classic and Contemporary Poetry
BETSY'S BATTLE FLAG, by MINNA IRVING First Line: From dusk till dawn the livelong night Last Line: For betsy's battle flag! Alternate Author Name(s): Michener, Harry, Mrs. Subject(s): Flags - United States; Ross, Betsy (1752-1836); American Flag | ||||||||
FROM dusk till dawn the livelong night She kept the tallow dips alight, And fast her nimble fingers flew To sew the stars upon the blue. With weary eyes and aching head She stitched the stripes of white and red, And when the day came up the stair Complete across a carven chair Hung Betsy's battle flag. Like shadows in the evening gray The Continentals filed away, With broken boots and ragged coats, But hoarse defiance in their throats; They bore the marks of want and cold, And some were lame and some were old, And some with wounds untended bled, But floating bravely overhead Was Betsy's battle flag. When fell the battle's leaden rain, The soldier hushed his moans of pain And raised his dying head to see King George's troopers turn and flee. Their charging column reeled and broke, And vanished in the rolling smoke, Before the glory of the stars, The snowy stripes, and scarlet bars Of Betsy's battle flag. The simple stone of Betsy Ross Is covered now with mold and moss, But still her deathless banner flies, And keeps the color of the skies. A nation thrills, a nation bleeds, A nation follows where it leads, And every man is proud to yield His life upon a crimson field For Betsy's battle flag! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE FLAG GOES BY by HENRY HOLCOMB BENNETT THE AMERICAN FLAG by JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE THE CALL TO THE COLORS by ARTHUR GUITERMAN THE BONNIE BLUE FLAG by ANNIE CHAMBERS KETCHUM THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER by FRANCIS SCOTT KEY THE CONQUERED BANNER by ABRAM JOSEPH RYAN FANCIES AT NAVESINK: 6 by WALT WHITMAN SONG OF THE BANNER AT DAY-BREAK by WALT WHITMAN |
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