Of old it was our heritage, the red and white and blue. Our grandsires died to raise it and our sires to keep it true. We prayed we might be worthy of their memory as we cast In starry beauty to the wind the banner of our past. But now -- O God, we name to Thee our living and our dead, Bone of our bone the white has grown, flesh of our flesh the red. Our substance and our souls we pledge to keep it undefiled. Of old it was our heritage -- to-day it is our child. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A LITANY OF ATLANTA by WILLIAM EDWARD BURGHARDT DU BOIS A MEDITATION FOR HIS MISTRESS by ROBERT HERRICK TO DIANEME (1) by ROBERT HERRICK THE DEFINITION OF LOVE by ANDREW MARVELL TWO RED ROSES ACROSS THE MOON by WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) |