Poetry Sunday

Today is Sunday, June 14th, and it's Flag Day - the day on which we honor Old Glory, the Stars and Stripes, the symbol of the nation.

What could be more appropriate for the day than this classic poem by Henry Holcomb Bennett? ...

The Flag is Passing By

by Henry Holcomb Bennett

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
A dash of color beneath the sky:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by!

Blue and crimson and white it shines,
Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.
Hats off!
The colors before us fly;
But more than the flag is passing by.

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,
Fought to make and to save the State:
Weary marches and sinking ships;
Cheers of victory on dying lips;

Days of plenty and years of peace;
March of a strong land's swift increase;
Equal justice, right and law,
Stately honor and reverend awe;

Sign of a nation, great and strong
To ward her people from foreign wrong:
Pride and glory and honor,--all
Live in the colors to stand or fall.

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;
And loyal hearts are beating high:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by!

Have a good day. And if you have a chance, salute the flag, which stands for all the freedoms you enjoy.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo