Poems (Crandall)/From the Depths
From The Depths
On The Destruction of the Battle Ship "Maine"
You have heard the cry from Havana. The cry from that blood-stained wave,And the sobs of widows and orphans Who weep o'er that wreck-strewn grave.
The lost were your countrymen—brothers; Does each passionate heart throb longTo spill the lifeblood of the Nation, To avenge, if need be, their wrong?
You gladly would leave home and kindred, To war with a foreign foe;Even welcome the wounds and the hardships To return such a cowardly blow.
We love this broad land of freedom, Spread out 'neath the red and white bars;An army would march to defend it From each state in the blue field of stars.
But another cry, (who has not heard it?) Comes up from a dark, surging wave,Strewn with wrecks of homes and affections, For the dead and the living a grave.
Wild mirth, groans and blasphemy mingle As they sink, men, once true and brave.A prayer too—some noble soul seeking, His life and his honor to save.
Hear the moans of that heart broken mother As a son is lured from her side;And deaf all her entreaties, Goes down in the rush of the tide.
See the tears of innocent children, Hear the sobs of widows—or, worse—Those who cling to a husband and father Held a slave, made a brute by the curse
Of the enemy clasped in our bosom, With money and men at command;Counting his victims by thousands, And boasting his power in the land.
Sadder far than the loss of the good ship And the gallant crew of the Maine,Is the wreck of eternity's life boats, Is the army of crippled and slain.
And these are our sons and our brothers, Who fell by the drink Demon's hand.Oh, how long shall this monster be pampered On the virtue and the wealth of our land?
Awake, sons—daughters of Freedom, What need of a longer delay?Arise—prepare for the battle, Your country calls you—obey.
Ah, the enemy laughs; for protection He claims, neath the red and white bars;Fight, fight till he's banished forever, From each state in the blue field of stars.