Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE EAGLE'S SONG, by RICHARD MANSFIELD First Line: The lioness whelped, and the sturdy cub Last Line: Now that the two are one again! Subject(s): Patriotism; Peace; United States - History | ||||||||
THE lioness whelped, and the sturdy cub Was seized by an eagle and carried up, And homed for a while in an eagle's nest, And slept for a while on an eagle's breast; And the eagle taught it the eagle's song: "To be stanch, and valiant, and free, and strong!" The lion whelp sprang from the eyrie nest, From the lofty crag where the queen birds rest; He fought the King on the spreading plain, And drove him back o'er the foaming main. He held the land as a thrifty chief, And reared his cattle, and reaped his sheat Nor sought the help of a foreign hand Yet welcomed all to his own free land! Two were the sons that the country bore To the Northern lakes and the Southern shore; And Chivalry dwelt with the Southern son, And Industry lived with the Northern one. Tears for the time when they broke and fought! Tears was the price of the union wrought! And the land was red in a sea of blood, Where brother for brother had swelled the flood! And now that the two are one again, Behold on their shield the word "Refrain!" And the lion cubs twain sing the eagle's song: "To be stanch, and valiant, and free, and strong!" For the eagle's beak, and the lion's paw, And the lion's fangs, and the eagle's claw, And the eagle's swoop, and the lion's might, And the lion's leap, and the eagle's sight, Shall guard the flag with the word "Refrain!" Now that the two are one again! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A VISIT TO GETTYSBURG by LUCILLE CLIFTON AFTER SPOTSYLVANIA COURT HOUSE by DAVID FERRY ACROSS THE LONG DARK BORDER by EDWARD HIRSCH WALT WHITMAN IN THE CIVIL WAR HOSPITALS by DAVID IGNATOW THE DAY OF THE DEAD SOLDIERS; MARY 30, 1869 by EMMA LAZARUS MANHATTAN, 1609 by EDWIN MARKHAM THE DECISION (APRIL 14, 1861) by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE SPARROW HARK IN THE RAIN (ALEXANDER STEPHENS HEARS NEWS) by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE KING OF SPAIN by MAXWELL BODENHEIM |
|