Page:The Poems of Henry Kendall (1920).djvu/384



of morning, with your breath

Sing the darkness now to death;

Radiant river, beaming bay,

Fair as Summer, shine to-day;

Flying torrent, falling slope,

Wear the face as bright as Hope;

Wind and woodland, hill and sea,

Lift your voices—sing for glee!

Greet the guests your fame has won—

Put your brightest garments on.

Lo, they come—the lords unknown,

Sons of Peace, from every zone!

See above our waves unfurled

All the flags of all the world!

North and south and west and east

Gather in to grace our feast.

Shining nations! let them see

How like England we can be.

Mighty nations! let them view

Sons of generous sires in you.

By the days that sound afar,

Sound, and shine like star by star;

By the grand old years aflame

With the fires of England's fame—

Heirs of those who fought for right

When the world's wronged face was white—

Meet these guests your fortune sends,

As your fathers met their friends;

Let the beauty of your race

Glow like morning in your face.