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Show This day is dear to us. This day our race Renews Its youth the whole broad earth around; This day our love o'erleaps all sundering space. And homeward hies beyond all hindering hinder-ing bound; This day where'r an Irishman is found (And whither can you go and fa'l to find him?) His faithful spirit haunts the holy ground, The consecrated sod, long left behind him. And even those whose eyes have never i seen The shine and shadow on their father's hills, Have ne'er been gladdened by the living green. Reflected in a thousand rills. To-day their hearts a tender feeling fills, Upon their cars to-day a voice is fall-j fall-j ing, A voice that touches them, a voice that thrills The voice of Erin to her children calling. The "sea-divided Gael" is one to-day From north to south, from farthest east to west, The spreading oceans cannot stop nor stay Y" The spark that speeds from Irish breast to breast; - We're brothers all at motherland's behest, be-hest, Heart cleaves to heart with tenderest devotion, And dark dissension passes like a jest In all the glow of this dear day's emotion! emo-tion! The winds of fate have blown us far and wide, Of cruel laws we've known the bitter ban, But all in vain oppression's hand has tried To bend us to a proud imperial plan, We are no remnant of a conquered clan-Eight clan-Eight hundred years of tyranny and terror Defiant leave us as when first began Their long, long reign of ignorance and error! We've 1 known defeat, we've known the anguish keen Of those who see their country's glory fled The famine days the living specters lean The little children hungering for bread. And yet the Irish nation is not dead! In spite of sword and suffering and sorrow, When all seems lost, again she lifts her head, And turns expectant toward some bright to-morrow. On England's realm the day is never done, She may well boast her far-flung battle-line, battle-line, Her . morning drum-beat following the sun. She rules alike the palm-tree and the pine. But, Erin dear, a wider sway is thine! A truer state of empire thou main-tainest! main-tainest! Thy right to homage is a right divine, Because, dear land, by love alone thou reignest The empire won by steel and held by force Must sometime fall, must sometime fall to naught, The onward moving years' resistless course Full many a dynasty to dust has brought. Belshazzar's kingdom cunningly was wrought. And yet there came a day of dire disaster, dis-aster, There came a message that with meaning mean-ing frauglit Foretold the triumph of another master! Thus power has passed, and thus will pass again. , God Hvee and reigns whate'er the fool may say. God is not mocked. He keeps his tryst with men, He bides his time until the appointed day. And then he moves. And then he sweeps away The fabrics fondly made to last forever. for-ever. And then a ruin where the lizards play Is all that marks the place of proud endeavor! en-deavor! This, this is Erin's comfort in her grief And this her consolation in her care; She holds unshaken still her old belief That God's high judgments are not false, but fair: When other peoples perish in despair. Or bow the knee before unholy altars, N natever cross poor Ireland's shoulders bear. Her Christian courage never faints nor falters! And so this day's a day of faith and hope! What'er misfortunes through the year may fall. To-day in darkness we refuse to grope. To-day our fingers fling aside the pall. To-day we answer to the clarion call, Of those at hometrue hearted sons that love her, To-day we pledge our fealty to all Who strive to place her own free flag above her' |