Finis Coronat Opus

Read, and learn, and knowledge gain, As did the men of old Who stood forth brave ‘neath tyrants’ reign, And spoke with wisdom bold. The ancient writers wielded pen, And words they sent beyond Their own brief lives, and realms, and ken, That on men light would dawn. Great privilege we hold in hand, Great precepts we should learn; For with them, beauteous is the land, Without them, it shall mourn.

Hid from sight of bustling hordes, Forgotten, brought to mind no more, Lie words, and tales, and legends great, That in the dark their fate await; For none remember yellowed page, Or less renowned, not fame-d sage. Why read the words of volumes old When new and shiny tales are told, And fables of the dusty past Are left behind in numbers vast, Their writers deemed no longer meet For modern sensibility? And so the people of the age Neglect the words upon the page, That, written with a care and thought Did beauty paint within the heart, Commend great deeds and honor strong, And build up nations from the throngs.

Build for days you shall not see, As those before have done, Lest babes in arms no future see And hope lie dead and gone. No people ever lasted long, Nor built a culture great, Who never thought of years beyond Their own impending fate. Great kingdoms through the annals old Yet live until this day, For children’s children oft were told And sung the ancient lays. So build for days that yet afar Appear to feeble sight, For swift beneath the sun and stars They come; look now aright.

Fill the ranks, you people bold; Your forbears dear are growing old, And pass they now from marching file As Time spins e’er his ceaseless dial. Fill the ranks, and let them not Grow sparse and empty, plagued by rot Of witless cowards from the foe Who seek our mettle to dethrone. Fill the ranks with brave and true And honest ones with light imbued, Who, though they falter in the march, Still press they on, with fervent heart. Fill the ranks, and name the dead, And go you forward in their stead, That lands they sought long to defend Continue on, ’til bitter end.

Watchmen, to the walls! Set guard upon the towers great That left to rot have been of late, And wakeful eye cast o’er below, That none unheeded go. Watchmen, to the walls! For labors great your forbears wrought, And mighty tyrants long they fought To raise a nation strong and free In peace and liberty. Watchmen, to the walls! This gift of old much treasured is, And enemies, with Judas’ kiss, Would seek to steal, disturb, destroy, Our freedoms we enjoy. Watchmen, to the walls! Let sleep forsake your keenest sight And let your lanterns burn forth bright; Let nations know that guarded are Our lands beneath the stars. Watchmen, to the walls! And welcome those who freedom seek, Who long for law and liberty, And honor well the cost to win The life enjoyed within. Watchmen, to the walls! And children hence your names shall know As heroes, braving wind and snow, Protecting, guarding endlessly, That peaceful, they should sleep.

A nation great, ‘neath western sun That, long ago, its freedom won, And built anew on precepts old And fashioned in their forbears’ mold, From nascence humble, on the shore Of lands unknown, ne’er seen before, To cities raised from wetland deep Wherein great treasures they would keep; This nation grew, by stalwart hearts, By noble minds and fairest arts, By mem’ries of their fathers’ deeds And sacrifices to be free. But not from hearts of men so bold, Nor justices, nor laws of old, Do people have their liberty; That is a gift of God, and free. And so did know those folk who braved The voyage great, the tyrant’s blade, And fought for people yet to come Within this nation ‘neath the sun.