The Poetical Writings of Fitz-Greene Halleck/The Pilgrims
THE PILGRIMS.
hey came—a life-devouring band—
In winter o’er the sea;
Tearless they left their fatherland,
Home of their infancy.
And when they battled to be free,
’Twas not for us and ours alone:
Millions may trace their destiny
To the wild beach they trod upon.
The brave on Bunker’s Hill who stood,
And fearless fought and died,
Felt in their veins the pilgrims’ blood,
Their spirit, and their pride.
That day’s last sunbeam was their last,
That well-fought field their death-bed scene;
But ’twas that battle’s bugle-blast
That bade the march of mind begin.
It sounded o’er the Atlantic waves:
“One struggle more, and then
Hearts that are now to tyrants slaves,
May beat like hearts of men.
The pilgrims’ names may then be heard,
In other tongues a battle-word—
The gathering war-cry of the free;
And other nations, from their sleep
Of bondage waking, long may keep,
Like us, the pilgrims’ jubilee.”
