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 CXXVI

THE FLAG OF ENGLAND

WINDS of the World, give answer ! They are whim- pering to and fro

And what should they know of England who only England know?

The poor little street-bred people that vapour and fume and brag,

They are lifting their heads in the stillness to yelp at the English Flag.

Must we borrow a clout from the Boer to plaster

anew with dirt? An Irish liar's bandage, or an English coward's

shirt? We may not speak of England; her Flag's to sell

or share. What is the Flag of England? Winds of the

World, declare!

The North Wind blew: 'From Bergen my steel- shod vanguards go ;

I chase your lazy whalers home from the Disko floe;

By the great North Lights above me I work the will of (od,

And the liner splits on the ice-fields or the Dogger fills with cod.

I barred my gates with iron, I shuttered my doors

with flame, Because to force my ramparts your nutshell

navies came;

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