Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE OLD 'CONSTITUTION', by ARTHUR GUITERMAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE OLD 'CONSTITUTION', by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Before the wind that greets the sun
Last Line: A hundred years ago.
Subject(s): Constitution (ship); Freedom; New York City - Revolutionary Period; Sailing & Sailors; Liberty; Seamen; Sails


Before the wind that greets the sun
She bowled along in glee --
The brave old ship whose cannon won
The freedom of the sea.

And fifteen stripes and fifteen stars
She flaunted high in air
When Hull's fierce broadsides raked the spars
Of England's "Guerriere."

The school where heroes proved their worth
In gale or battle smoke,
Her masts were pines of mountain birth,
Her sides were native oak.

And proud in sails without a fleck,
She rode to meet the foe
When Bainbridge walked her quarter-deck
A hundred years ago.





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