THE AMERICAN FLAGIn 1909 a souvenir edition of poems were published by Emory W. Justus entitled "Life's Golden Dreams." The book had about one hundred pages and about that number of poems, written in years past from time to time.
Since the little book appeared and received such favorable comment from literary circles and the Metropolitan Press of the country, the author received a larger measure of inspiration and wrote with more ease than ever before, perhaps in all as many as five hundred poems.
On this page you will find one picked poem he took from all his writings to represent the best thought of a life assiduously devoted to study of good literature.
His writings served as a recreation from his arduous school duties and brought him joys untold. He wrote not from necessity, but for the love of it. Truly, he could have said his compositions were a labor of love.
To him there was no joy in this world like the joy of creation.
He fully concurred in the thought contained in the following lines:
'''Tis well to borrow of the good and great,
'Tis wise to learn but Godlike to create.''
Should he have never reaped one dollar of profit from the sale of this book he has already been blessed a hundredfold.
BEAUTIFUL flag, today so grand!
Fair ensign of happy land,
Whose wish is same as command,
In this and every other land.
Sweet emblem of eternal love!
With stars as bright as above,
With stripes of rose and violet, too,
In colors of red, white and blue.
Her empire is from sea to sea,
Flag of our Country, dear to me!
The banner of the noble free,
The Flag of all humanity!
The Flag for me, the Flag for you,
In folds of amaranthine hue,
Flag of the Bard's enchanted song,
The muse's dream, through ages long!
Our bonny Flag, red, white and blue,
Ordained of God for me and you,
The flag to Freedom, long unfurled,
The glory now of all the world!
Flag of our fathers, true and tried,
The one for which they nobly died,
One with a high and holy aim
That covets no ignoble fame.
A flag that has a sacred trust,
Yet never sought a quarrel unjust.
That famous old red, white and blue,
Blood stained! yet clean the ages through.
Oh, sacred shrine of liberty!
Oh, glorious ensign of the Free!
All nations love to honor Thee,
Thou mighty bulwark of the Free!
Thy stars as Suns in glory shine,
O Flag of mine! O Flag of mine!
The fairest Banner in repose,
Since Erin's Sun first kissed the rose
And Menes' Flag o'er Memphis rose.
Since Byron wrote in rippling rhyme
And Milton breathed his song subline!
Since Pindar stayed the tyrant's hand,
And Virgil charmed his native land.
Since Sappho sang in song divine,
And Greece was drunk with Samian Wine
O Flag of mine! O Flag of mine!
The banner Flag since Time began,
The gift of God to mortal man!
~Emory W. Justus, Jefferson City, Missouri/USA
