SWEET as the honored name Their storm-tossed shallop bore, The memory of our fathers' fame, And green forevermore. Peace to their hallowed graves, That consecrate the ground, Where first a refuge from the waves Their pilgrim footsteps found. What mortal sighs and tears Swelled on that wintry sod! How cast they all their cares and fears And every hope on God! And wild as winds, that sweep Along the savage shore, Rose thoughts of homes beyond the deep, Their pleasant homes no more. But grander visions greet Their prophet-lighted eyes,— They trod the world beneath their feet, And marched to join the skies. Triumphant over earth, Faith, that their spirits fed, Beamed, like a gem of priceless worth, On each uplifted head. No flaming sign they sought To light their venturous road, They owned the unseen Hand that wrought, And in His strength abode. But to their souls' desire,— Though dark to mortal view,— The daily cloud and nightly fire Shone, clear as Jacob knew. Vain doubt, and fear, and care, The desert and the flood,— They knew the God they served was there, And in His name they stood. Thoughts, more than human great, Came to their spirits' call; And thus they built the stable STATE, In Him, their hope, their all. And far as rolls the swell Of Time's returnless sea, Where empires rise and nations dwell, Their Pilgrim fame shall be! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE FUTURE LIFE by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE FORCE OF LOVE by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: BENJAMIN PANTIER by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE BOATMAN by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI FALSTAFF'S SONG by EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN PSALM 30. EXALTABO TE DOMINE by OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE THE EMIGRANT LASSIE by JOHN STUART BLACKIE |