Rex Captivus
I am stained with blood of your sons, and armored with
prayers of your daughters,
To me your defenders point as sign of their aim most true, On the prows of your mail-clad ships I sail to guard your
conquered waters: O sons of the West, will ye sully your crest
With this hideous thing ye do?
Nay ! By the oath ye swore, by the pledge of your ancient
duty, By the blood ye spilled for my honor, I bid you to bend
the knee !
Yield me my place again, in its purity, pride, and beauty ! Men of my nation, is this my station?
I summon you, set me free ! Let there be one rift in the cloud of man's world-wide
dominion, One thing of all breathing things that he bids no hand
molest ! Let Liberty's sky be hallowed by the beat of the eagle's
pinion, By her sons released, from the earliest east
To the shores of the farthest west !
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