Sir John Hanmer (1809-1881). I. America. Hunt and Lee, comps. 1867. The Book of the Sonnet

Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867.

I. America

By Sir John Hanmer (1809–1881)


GREAT people, whom across the Atlantic seas,
Our thoughts, expanding with the space, behold;
And know thy starry front, serene and bold,
E’en as Orion, when the winters freeze;
Thy distance fades by changing moon’s degrees;	5
Peace hovers o’er the middle depths, to hold
On either side her scales of antique gold,
Spanning the depths: but not alone for these;
But, that ye come from an ancestral line
That hence departed, keeping freedom’s ways,	10
And speak the language that the band divine
And storied memories of great deeds did raise,
When the old world was wondrous; let the sign
Of love shine out betwixt us, in our days.