WHAT does it mean? I look across the years.... I see them come, but through a mist of tears, Our gallant forebears, full of hopes and fears. I see them leave behind for conscience' sake, The homes they loved, the ties so hard to break, Their questing, wondering, westward way to take I see them face and fight the wilderness, Undaunted by its dangers, its duress, And from its wildness, wrest and win success I see them take their living from the soil, The men and women joined in homely toil — Where they then planted, now our heart-roots coil. I see them build their homes, their house of prayer, And when its bell rings out upon the air, I see them kneel in simple worship there. I hear the drums of war's alarum beat, I see them seize their arms, rise to their feet Their enemies — and liberty's — to meet. I see them face and conquer every foe, I see their cities rise, a nation grow, To whose broad breast earth's eager pilgrims go. To be American is to be one In whom these brave inheritances run, A worthy daughter, or a noble son. ... | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AULD ROBIN GRAY by ANNE LINDSAY ON IMAGINATION by PHILLIS WHEATLEY THE FISHERMAN by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS THE LITTLE CROSS by EDITH AGNEW ODES: BOOK 1: ODE 6. HYMN TO CHEERFULNESS by MARK AKENSIDE NIGHTFALL by FLORENCE ASHLEY BELLER EMPORIUM VERSUS NEW YORK, 1854 by JACOB BIGELOW |