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When the Great Gray Ships Come In
Who fight their guns till the foeman runs, and then, on the
decks they trod, Brave faces raise, and give the praise to the grace of their
country's God !
Yes, it is good to battle, and good to be strong and free,
To carry the hearts of a people to the uttermost ends of sea,
To see the day steal up the bay, where the enemy lies in wait,
To run your ship to the harbor's lip and sink her across the strait :
But better the golden evening when the ships round heads for home,
And the long gray miles slip swiftly past in a swirl of seeth- ing foam,
And the people wait at the haven's gate to greet the men who win !
Thank God for peace! Thank God for peace, when the great gray ships come in !
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