CXXVI
THE FLAG OF ENGLAND
WINDS of the World, give answer ! They are whim- pering to and fro
And what should they know of England who only England know?
The poor little street-bred people that vapour and fume and brag,
They are lifting their heads in the stillness to yelp at the English Flag.
Must we borrow a clout from the Boer to plaster
anew with dirt? An Irish liar's bandage, or an English coward's
shirt? We may not speak of England; her Flag's to sell
or share. What is the Flag of England? Winds of the
World, declare!
The North Wind blew: 'From Bergen my steel- shod vanguards go ;
I chase your lazy whalers home from the Disko floe;
By the great North Lights above me I work the will of (od,
And the liner splits on the ice-fields or the Dogger fills with cod.
I barred my gates with iron, I shuttered my doors
with flame, Because to force my ramparts your nutshell
navies came;
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