AMERICA FOR ME
By Henry van Dyke
Doctor van Dyke (1852-) is a noted clergyman, writer, and educator. He has long been connected with Princeton University. From 1913-1917, during the trying period of the World War, he was United States minister to Holland. His many visits to Europe have served only to increase his devotion to his native land. The following poem is a fine expression of the genuine homesickness of the traveled scholar for his own country. You should read it and re-read it until it has sung itself into your memory.
(From The Poems of Henry van Dyke. Copyright, 1920, by Charles Scribner's Sons.)
'Tis fine to see the Old World, and travel up and down
Among the famous palaces and cities of renown,
To admire the crumbly castles and the statues of the
kings—
But now I think I've had enough of antiquated things. 5
So it's home again, and home again, America for me!
My heart is turning home again, and there I long to be,
In the land of youth and freedom beyond the ocean bars,
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars.
Oh, London is a man's town, there's power in the air; 10
And Paris is a woman's town, with flowers in her hair;
And it's sweet to dream in Venice, and it's great to study
Rome;
But when it comes to living, there is no place like home.
I like the German fir woods, in green battalions drilled;
I like the gardens of Versailles with flashing fountains
filled;
But, oh, to take your hand, my dear, and ramble for a day
In the friendly western woodland where Nature has her 5
way!
I know that Europe's wonderful, yet something seems to
lack;
The Past is too much with her, and the people looking back;
But the glory of the Present is to make the Future free,— 10
We love our land for what she is and what she is to be.
Oh, it's home again, and home again, America for me!
I want a ship that's westward bound to plow the rolling
sea,
To the blessed Land of Room Enough beyond the ocean bars,15
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars.
1. How many places are mentioned by name? Tell what and where each is.
2. What does the author admire in the Old World? What does he mean by his distinction between London and Paris? List the things the author misses in the Old World. How is America contrasted with Europe? Explain line 15, page 334.
3. Report on other writings of Dr. van Dyke. Which of his outdoor books do you know?
Love thou thy land, with love far-brought
From out the storied Past, and used
Within the Present, but transfused
Through future time by power of thought.
—Alfred Tennyson.