A Psalm Of The Union Poem by William Ross Wallace

I.

GOD of the Free! upon thy breath
Our Flag is for the Right unrolled;
Still broad and brave as when its stars
First crowned the hallowed time of old:
For Honor still their folds shall fly,
For Duty still their glories burn,
Where Truth, Religion, Freedom guard
The patriot’s sword and martyr’s urn.
Then shout beside thine oak, O North!
O South! wave answer with thy palm;
And in our Union’s heritage
Together lift the Nation’s psalm!

II.

How glorious is our mission here!
Heirs of a virgin world are we;
The chartered lords whose lightuings tame
The rocky mount and roaring sea:
We march, and Nature’s giants own
The fetters of our mighty cars;
We look, and lo! a continent
Is crouched beneath the Stripes and Stars
Then shout beside thine oak, O North!
O South! wave answer with thy palm;
And in our Union’s heritage
Together lft the Nation’s psalm!

III.

No tyrant’s impious step is ours;
No lust of power on nations rolled:
Our Flag—for friends a starry sky,
For foes a tempest every fold!
Oh! thus we’ll keep our nation’s life,
Nor fear the bolt by despots hurled:
The blood of all the world is here,
And they who strike us, strike the world.
Then shout beside thine oak, O North!
O South! wave answer with thy palm;
And in our Union’s heritage
Together hft the Nation’s psalm!

IV.

God of the Free! our Nation bless
In its strong manhood as its birth;
And make its life a Star of Hope
For all the struggling of the Earth:
Thou gav’st the glorious Past to us;
Oh! let our Present burn as bright,
And o’er the mighty Future cast
T~uth’s, Honor’s, Freedom’s holy light I
Then shout beside thine oak, 0 North!
0 South! wave answer with thy palm;
And in our Union’s heritage
Together 4ft the Nation’s psalm!