Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TRIENNIAL ODE ON THE MASSACHUSETTS CHARITABLE MECHANIC ASSOCIATION, by CHARLES SPRAGUE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TRIENNIAL ODE ON THE MASSACHUSETTS CHARITABLE MECHANIC ASSOCIATION, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When, from the mitred churchman's power
Last Line: And clustering glories round their names shall bloom.
Subject(s): Charity; Pilgrim Fathers; Philanthropy


WHEN, from the mitred churchman's power,
Pilgrims sought a land of rest,
Here proudly rose, in blissful hour,
Freedom's empire in the west.
To Him who saved, the God most high,
Sweet Piety her altar raised;
Invention came, with eagle eye,
And Science smiled where savage war-fires blazed.

Here, where the tawny Indian roved,
Tenant of a flowerless waste,
A magic power bright Genius proved,
Forests bowed to Art and Taste.
Toil swung the sledge with sturdy hand,
In chiseled grace fair domes arose;
Improvement moved upon the land,
And Freedom's Press saved all from Freedom's foes.

Mechanic skill! the tar by thee
Stems the wave, and mocks the gale;
By thee the yeoman, blithe and free,
Plenty reaps from every vale.
Earth vainly hides her caverned ores;
To thee the treasured hoard is given;
And elements obey thy powers,
And Science grasps the quivering flash of heaven.

Nor yet alone in peaceful toil
Genius here shall be renowned;
Should bold invasion tread the soil,
Art's firm sons shall rally round.
Great Archimedes on the foe
Drew burning vengeance from the sun;
And they, at Franklin's name who glow,
Shall rouse at thine, immortal Washington!

O, favored land! the exile's rest,
Charity's long-hallowed seat;
By science, worth, and valor blest,
All that's good in thee shall meet.
"BE JUST, AND FEAR NOT" earth combined;
The scale and blade, the test and doom,
Thy sons shall bear to all mankind,
And clustering glories round their names shall bloom.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net