Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THANKSGIVING, by WILLIAM A. PHELON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THANKSGIVING, by                    
First Line: Yes--we give thanks. Thanks that the fight is won
Last Line: Waves in the forefront of a better world!
Subject(s): Holidays; Thanksgiving; United States; World War I; America; First World War


YES—we give thanks. Thanks that the fight is won,
Thanks for the great task that is nobly done.
The world rejoices in the new-born day,
With tyrants toppled from their sullen sway,
With the cessation of the scalding tears,
And the dark horrors of the passing years.
Yes, we give thanks. Not long ago, we stood
As one who halts before a gloomy wood—
A thorny jungle, where, amid the murk,
Cobras await, and crouching tigers lurk.
Long we delayed, while other nations fought,
While murder reigned, and hideous crime was wrought.

Thanks, that the cry of Destiny and Fate
Brought us to battle ere it was too late—
Brought us, full panoplied, to turn the tide,
To halt the foe, then crush his brutal pride.
Thanks for the spirit that our fathers knew—
The will to dare—the strength "to see it through"—
Thanks for the dash, the matchless fighting power
That helped our brothers in their blackest hour—
Thanks for the name that we shall ever hold—
"The Yankee nation—with the heart of gold"—
Thanks that the Flag, the Stars and Stripes unfurled,
Waves in the forefront of a better world!





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