Page:Maryland, my Maryland, and other poems - Randall - 1908.pdf/149

 :It burns! it blazes! let it be A globe-mark for the bold and free
 * To beacon on Eternity.

Ay, let it flash its halo high—
 * Flash like a meteor in the sky

With lightning flame
 * To carve a name

That cannot, will not quickly die!

No subtle tribute of the mine
 * Could quell that hero-heart of thine;

Not the ripe wilderness of gold
 * Through which Pactolian tides have roll’d;

Not the star-gem that grandly flings
 * Its flambeau by barbaric kings;

No traitor’s breath, no hostile band,
 * Not Power’s all-pervading hand

Could wrench thee from thy native land.
 * The lone wolf from his lair

May find a shelter from despair—
 * Man of the weary-foot, for thee

No refuge held the land or sea—
 * Death, death alone could set thee free—

And, more than free, since thus it came
 * Girt with the glory-wings of fame.