The Pilgrim Fathers
by John Pierpont (1785-1866) |
 |
|
THE PILGRIM FATHERS,�where are they?
The waves that
brought them o'er
Still roll in the bay, and throw their
spray
As they break along the shore;
Still roll in the
bay, as they rolled that day
When the Mayflower moored
below,
When the sea around was black with storms,
And
white the shore with snow.
The mists that wrapped the
Pilgrim's sleep
Still brood upon the tide;
And his
rocks yet keep their watch by the deep
To stay its waves
of pride.
But the snow-white sail that he gave to the
gale,
When the heavens looked dark, is gone,�
As an
angel's wing through an opening cloud
Is seen, and then
withdrawn.
The pilgrim exile,�sainted name!
The
hill whose icy brow
Rejoiced, when he came, in the
morning's flame,
In the morning's flame burns now.
And
the moon's cold light, as it lay that night
On the
hillside and the sea,
Still lies where he laid his
houseless head,�
But the Pilgrim! where is he?
The
Pilgrim Fathers are at rest:
When summer's throned on
high,
And the world's warm breast is in verdure drest,
Go, stand on the hill where they lie.
The earliest ray of
the golden day
On that hallowed spot is cast;
And the
evening sun, as he leaves the world,
Looks kindly on that
spot last.
The Pilgrim spirit has not fled:
It
walks in noon's broad light;
With the holy stars by
night.
It watches the bed of the brave who have bled,
And still guard this ice-bound shore,
Till the waves of
the bay, where the Mayflower lay,
Shall foam and freeze
no more. |
By John Pierpont (1785-1866)
Listed February 27, 2013 |
|
Poem Use Permission Request
USA Patriotism! cannot
provide use permission for a poem or an author's email address
if not listed below the poem. Only the author or a legal
representative can grant permission. Try a search engine to find the
author's contact information for a use permission request or if
it is available for public use.
Note: Poems authored in the
1700s and 1800s can be used with reference to the author. |
Comment on this poem |
|
| | |
|
| Country and Flag Poems | Poem Categories |
|
