Poems (Hoffman)/The Patriot Abroad
THE PATRIOT ABROAD
He stood in a foreign port In the midst of the clamoring dinStraining his eyes o'er the peaceful waves, Watching the ships come in.
There were French and Italian frigates And British men-of-warAnd flags of all nationalities Streaming their colors afar;
But one of the many caught his eye And raised his eager handTo wave his hat in welcome, 'Twas the flag of his native land.
It flung on the Orient zephyrs Freedom's prophetic typesWhile India's sunbeams sported In Columbia's stars and stripes,
And it spake to the lonely traveler Of his home across the mainWhere it waved in majestic beauty O'er the freedman's sundered chain.
What wonder he greeted its coming With a glad and grateful heart,It seemed of his country,—an emblem, Of his cherished home,—a part.
Like a star from his native heaven Or a message from some loved name,Or a flower plucked from his garden On the wings of a dove it came.
Float on, loved flag of Freedom O'er many a foreign seaAnd wake in the hearts of thousands The echoes of liberty!