Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THOSE REBEL FLAGS, by JOHN H. JEWETT First Line: Shall we send back the johnnies their bunting Last Line: Is america's watchword to-day. Subject(s): Flags - Confederate States Of America; Flags - United States; United States; American Flag; America | ||||||||
DISCUSSED BY "ONE OF THE YANKS" SHALL we send back the Johnnies their bunting, In token, from Blue to the Gray, That "Brothers-in-blood" and "Good Hunting" Shall be our new watchword to-day? In olden times knights held it knightly To return to brave foemen the sword; Will the Stars and the Stripes gleam less brightly If the old Rebel flags are restored? Call it sentiment, call it misguided To fight to the death for "a rag"; Yet, trailed in the dust, derided, The true soldier still loves his flag! Does love die, and must honor perish When colors and causes are lost? Lives the soldier who ceases to cherish The blood-stains and valor they cost? Our battle-fields, safe in the keeping Of Nature's kind, fostering care, Are blooming, -- our heroes are sleeping, -- And peace broods perennial there. All over our land rings the story Of loyalty, fervent and true; "One flag," and that flag is "Old Glory," Alike for the Gray and the Blue. Why cling to those moth-eaten banners? What glory or honor to gain While the nation is shouting hosannas, Uniting her sons to fight Spain? Time is ripe, and the harvest worth reaping, Send the Johnnies their flags f. o. b., Address to the care and safe-keeping Of that loyal "old Reb," Fitzhugh Lee! Yes, send back the Johnnies their bunting, With greetings from Blue to the Gray; We are "Brothers-in-blood," and "Good Hunting" Is America's watchword to-day. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...JULY FOURTH BY THE OCEAN by ROBINSON JEFFERS SHINE, PERISHING REPUBLIC by ROBINSON JEFFERS SHINE, PERISHING REPUBLIC by ROBINSON JEFFERS WATCH THE LIGHTS FADE by ROBINSON JEFFERS AFTER TENNYSON by AMBROSE BIERCE MEETING YOU AT THE PIERS by KENNETH KOCH INVOCATION TO THE SOCIAL MUSE by ARCHIBALD MACLEISH |
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