We saw the ships come in,
The whole sixteen !
And sixteen thousand men, our kith and kin,
Manned the white ships as on they moved
With equal space between.
Upon the shore we stood,
And cheered the fleet !
We felt and knew we sought each others’ good,
And twice two hundred thousand men
Were there the ships to greet.
Seven days we saw them then,
A goodly sight !
And admirals and officers and men
Amidst the crowds, in bannered streets,
Were with us day and night.
We saw the ships go out,
The whole sixteen !
And waved our last good-bye, and turned about,
And sought within ourselves to know
What it might teach and mean.
And first we called to mind
The Mother-land !
Her care, her ready arm so strong, so kind,
Her joy to see us free and strong,
Her pride by us to stand.
The day, we knew, she mourned,
When counsel good
Of Chatham and of Edmund Burke was scorned.
Yet of her blood her children are,
The bond is understood.
So while the Stars and Stripes
We gladly see,
And prize the friendship shown, this minstrel pipes
With loyal lay the Union Jack,
Our pledge of liberty.
(Gerard Addington D Arcy Irvine)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, Night Poems, Friendship Poems, Liberty & Freedom PoemsBased on Keywords: mother-land, admirals, chatham