It seems to me I’ve never tried
To do so much about the place,
Nor been so slow to come inside.
But since I’ve got the flag to face,
Each night when I come home to rest
I feel that I must look up there
And say: “Old Flag, I’ve done my best,
Today I’ve tried to do my share.”
And sometimes, just to catch the breeze,
I stop my work, and o’er the trees
Old Glory fairly shouts my way:
“You’re shirking far too much today!”
The help have caught the spirit, too;
The hired man takes off his cap
Before the old red, white, and blue,
Then to the horses says: “Giddap!”
And starting bravely to the field
He tells the milkmaid by the door:
“We’re going to make these acres yield
More than they’ve ever done before.”
She smiles to hear his gallant brag,
Then drops a curtsey to the flag,
And in her eyes there seems to shine
A patriotism that is fine.
37
