Our boys have seen the Old World as none have seen before. 
  They know the grisly horror of the German gods of war: 
  The noble faith of Britain and the hero-heart of France,
  The soul of Belgium’s fortitude and Italy’s romance.

  They bore our country’s great word across the rolling sea,
  “America swears brotherhood with all the just and free.” 
  They wrote that word victorious on fields of mortal strife,
  And many a valiant lad was proud to seal it with his life.

  Oh, welcome home in Heaven’s peace, dear spirits of the dead! 
  And welcome home ye living sons America hath bred! 
  The lords of war are beaten down, your glorious task is done;
  You fought to make the whole world free, and the victory is won.

   Now it’s home again, and home again, our hearts are turning west,
    Of all the lands beneath the sun America is best. 
    We’re going home to our own folks, beyond the ocean bars,
    Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars.

November 11, 1918.

A sequel to “America For Me,” written in 1909.  Page 314.

THE SURRENDER OF THE GERMAN FLEET

Ship after ship, and every one with a high-resounding name,
From the robber-nest of Heligoland the German war-fleet came;
Not victory or death they sought, but a rendezvous of shame.

Sing out, sing out,
A joyful shout,
Ye lovers of the sea! 
The “Kaiser” and the “Kaiserin,”
The “Koenig” and the “Prinz,”
The potentates of piracy,
Are coming to surrender,
And the ocean shall be free.

They never dared the final fate of battle on the blue;
Their sea-wolves murdered merchantmen and mocked the drowning crew;
They stained the wave with martyr-blood,—­but we sent our transports

                    through!

What flags are these that dumbly droop from the gaff o’ the mainmast
tall? 
The black of the Kaiser’s iron cross, the red of the Empire’s fall! 
Come down, come down, ye pirate flags.  Yea, strike your colors all.

The Union Jack and the Tricolor and the Starry Flag o’ the West
Shall guard the fruit of Freedom’s war and the victory confest,
The flags of the brave and just and free shall rule on the ocean’s

                    breast.

Sing out, sing out,
A mighty shout,
Ye lovers of the sea! 
The “Kaiser” and the “Kaiserin,”
The “Koenig” and the “Prinz,”
The robber-lords of death and sin,
Have come to their surrender,
And the ocean shall be free!

November 20, 1918.

GOLDEN STARS

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