THE AMERICAN FLAG by Fr. Charles Constantine Pise

THE AMERICAN FLAG

This poem was written by the accomplished Rev. Charles Constantine Pise, the only Catholic priest who ever had the distinction of being chaplain to the United States Senate. He held the office with credit and dignity from 1830 to 1833. The poem was written during the exciting times of Knownothingism that preceded the Civil War, when Catholics were on all sides accused of being enemies of the Government. It is said that it was inspired by the flag waving from the national capitol, as the author saw it while walking up Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.

They say I do not love thee,

Flag of my native land;

Whose meteor folds above me,

To the free breeze expand;

Thy broad stripes proudly streaming,

And thy stars so brightly gleaming.

–

They say I would forsake thee,

Should some dark crisis lower;

That, recreant, I should make thee

Crouch to a foreign power;

Seduced by license ample,

On thee, best flag, to trample.

–

They say that bolts of thunder,

Cast in the forge of Rome,

May rise and bring thee under,

Flag of my native home,

And with one blow dissever

My heart from thee forever.

–

False are the words they utter,

Ungenerous their brand;

And rash the oaths they mutter,

Flag of my native land;

Whilst still, in hope above me,

Thou wavest—and I love thee!

–

God is my love’s first duty,

To Whose Eternal Name

Be praise for all thy beauty,

Thy grandeur and thy fame;

But ever have I reckoned

Thine, native flag, my second.

–

Woe to the foe or the stranger,

Whose sacrilegious hand

Would touch thee, or endanger,

Flag of my native land!

Though some would fain discard thee,

Mine should be raised to guard thee.

–

Then wave, thou first of banners!

And in thy gentle shade

Let all opinions, manners,

Promiscuously be laid,

And there, all discord ended,

Our hearts and souls be blended!

–

Stream on, stream on, before us,

Thou labarum of light,

While in one generous chorus

Our vows to thee we plight;

Unfaithful to thee—never !

My native land forever!

Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Concord Hymn

By RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Sung at the Completion of the Battle Monument, July 4, 1837

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

   Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood

   And fired the shot heard round the world.

–

The foe long since in silence slept;

   Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;

And Time the ruined bridge has swept

   Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

–

On this green bank, by this soft stream,

   We set today a votive stone;

That memory may their deed redeem,

   When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

–

Spirit, that made those heroes dare

   To die, and leave their children free,

Bid Time and Nature gently spare

   The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Patriot Songs – These Colors Never Run!

Here are some patriot songs to get you ready and rarin’ to go, readers!  Enjoy!

God bless America!

The Mithril Guardian

 

The Marine Corps’ Hymn

 

The Battle of New Orleans, in 1814

 

Ain’t nobody makes an advertisement like the Corps!  OORAH!!!

U.S. Marine Corps Commercials

 

Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American) – Toby Keith

 

Made In America – Toby Keith

 

God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood

 

American Soldier – Toby Keith

 

Semper Fi, Gyrenes!

Semper Fi – Trace Adkins

 

Till The Last Shot’s Fired – Trace Adkins

 

Not sure it is actually a patriotic song, but….

Not Every Man Lives – Jason Aldean

 

HIGH TIME!!!!

Thank You For Your Service (A Moment of Truth)

Remembering September 11, 2001

I saw the Twin Towers fall on September 11, 2001.  I saw the Pentagon, billowing smoke, looking like a wounded thing, on the same day.  I saw the crater where Flight 93 fell rather than hit the White House.

I saw all these things.  I have not forgotten them.

I will never forget them!  I refuse to forget them!

This is my home, now and to the day I die.  This flag is my flag.  And I will love and defend it with all I have, no matter who challenges me for it.

Never forget…

The Mithril Guardian

Happy Independence Day!!!

I AM THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

I am the flag of the United States of America.

My name is Old Glory.

–

I fly atop the world’s tallest buildings.

I stand watch in America’s halls of justice.

–

I fly majestically over institutions of learning.

I stand guard with power in the world.

Look up…and see me.

–

I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice.

I stand for freedom.

–

I am confident.

I am arrogant.

I am proud.

–

When I am flown with my fellow banners,

My head is a little higher,

My colors a little bit truer.

–

I bow to no one!

–

I am recognized all over the world.

I am worshipped – I am saluted.

–

I am loved – I am revered.

I am respected – and I am feared.

–

I have fought in every battle of every

war for more than 200 years.

–

I was flown at Valley Forge,

Gettysburg, Shiloh and Appomattox.

–

I was there at San Juan Hill,

The trenches of France,

In the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome

and the beaches of Normandy, Guam.

Okinawa, Korea and Khe San,

Saigon, Vietnam know me,

–

I was there.

I lead my troops,

I was dirty, battleworn and tired,

but my soldiers cheered me

And I was proud.

In short, Happy Independence Day – and Happy Birthday to the United States of America!

Semper Fidelis!

The Mithril Guardian

 

Happy Independence Day!!!

The Star Spangled Banner

By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

–

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

God bless America!

The Mithril Guardian