NOT with high-vaulting phrase, or rush Of weak-winged epithets that tire With their own weight, or formal gush, We greet thee, Sire! To flights less lofty we aspire. We pray, in speech unskilled to feign, That all good things good men desire May crown Thy reign; That our State 'Dreadnought' once again May leave in broken seas to veer, And shape her course direct and plain, With Thee to steer, Into blue sky and water clear, Where she on even keel shall ride, Secure from reef and shoal, or fear Of wind and tide. So may it be, Sire! -- so abide! Till, by God's grace, this Empire shine More great in power than great in pride, Through Thee and Thine; Nor from her honoured past resign One least bequest; or vail her claim To aught that dowers an ancient line -- An ancient fame! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HENRY PURCELL by GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS SONG: THE DEATH OF THE ROSE by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT THE LOVE SONNETS OF PROTEUS: 113, TO ONE WITH HIS SONNETS by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT FLEUR DE LIS by GRACE EVELYN BROWN |