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! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A SOLDIER LISTENS by JEAN STARR UNTERMEYER THE MOON by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES ODE TO SILENCE by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY THE HAUNTED PALACE by EDGAR ALLAN POE IN SICKNESS (1714) by JONATHAN SWIFT EPITAPH by KENNETH SLADE ALLING ORLANDO FURIOSO: CANTO 10. by LUDOVICO (LODOVICO) ARIOSTO TO GEORGE CRUIKSHANK, ESQ., ON SEEING HIS PICTURE ... by MATTHEW ARNOLD |