Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DECATUR'S DARING DEED, by EFFIE WALLER SMITH


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DECATUR'S DARING DEED, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In the deepening shadows of twilight
Last Line: Than that by decatur done.
Subject(s): Decatur, Stephen (1779-1820)


In the deepening shadows of twilight,
Disguised in a ship of war
Which had been taken from the enemy,
Sailed Commodre Dectaur.

From Sicily's isle through the salty waves
Of the Mediterranean Sea,
To perform a deed that would live through time,
Which on history's page would be

A truth that the heroic young might read,
Or list to their grandsires tell,
How he and his crew performed their deed,
How bravely and how well.

How into Tripoli's harbor,
Unseen and unknown, he dashed,
'Till longside the Philadelphia
The little Intrepid he lashed.

Then aboard the Philadelphia
He and his brave crew sprang,
While the sound of their guns and the enemy's
On the tropical night air rang.

How he left the Philadelphia
Ablaze in the harbor blue,
After he'd captured and taken aboard
The survivors of her crew.

Honor to all our heroes
Who laurels for bravery have won!
But our history records no braver deed
Than that by Decatur done.




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