Shall ever float on dome and tower,
To all their heavenly colors true,
In blackening frost or crimson dew—
And God love us as we love thee,
Thrice holy Flower of Liberty!
Then hail the banner of the free,
The starry Flower of Liberty.
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
For Biography, [see page 539].
Discussion. 1. Read the line in the first stanza answering the question with which the poem opens. 2. Explain the metaphor of the “burning star” and the “flaming band,” etc. 3. How many “burning stars” does our flag contain? How many “flaming bands”? 4. Why does the poet call America the “sunset land”? 5. How far back in history must we go to find the seed time of the Flower of Liberty? 6. Did the Flower of Liberty come to full-bloom in a time of strife or a time of peace? 7. What were the “storm-winds”? What blood streaked its opening leaves? 8. How does the poet show that the North and South unite as one in the flag? 9. How do the “blades of heroes fence” the flag? 10. In the fourth stanza the poet says that the flag makes our land as free as the ocean; what do you know about a recent struggle over the freedom of the seas? 11. Why is the Flower of Liberty thrice holy?