MUSIC HALL, DECEMBER 6, 1871
Sung to the Russian national air by the children of the public schools.
SHADOWED so long by the storm-cloud of danger,
Thou whom the prayers of an empire defend,
Welcome, thrice welcome! but not as a stranger,
Come to the nation that calls thee its friend!
Bleak are our shores with the blasts of December,
Fettered and chill is the rivulet’s flow;
Throbbing and warm are the hearts that remember
Who was our friend when the world was our foe.
Look on the lips that are smiling to greet thee,
See the fresh flowers that a people has strewn
Count them thy sisters and brothers that meet thee;
Guest of the Nation, her heart is thine own!
Fires of the North, in eternal communion,
Blend your broad flashes with evening’s bright star!
God bless the Empire that loves the Great Union;
Strength to her people! Long life to the Czar!
(Oliver Wendell Holmes)
More Poetry from Oliver Wendell Holmes:
Oliver Wendell Holmes Poems based on Topics: Friendship, God, World, Education, Children, Prayers, Music, People, Guest, Danger & Risk, Eternity- Poetry: A Metrical Essay, Read Before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, Harvard (Oliver Wendell Holmes Poems)
- Poem For The Two Hundred And Fiftieth Anniversary Of The Founding Of Harvard College (Oliver Wendell Holmes Poems)
- Agnes (Oliver Wendell Holmes Poems)
- Astraea: The Balance Of Illusions (Oliver Wendell Holmes Poems)
- The School-Boy (Oliver Wendell Holmes Poems)
- The Banker's Secret (Oliver Wendell Holmes Poems)