Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE STALKING OF THE SEA WOLVES, by CHARLES WEST THOMPSON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE STALKING OF THE SEA WOLVES, by                    
First Line: They had come from out of the east
Last Line: "they'll never get home!"
Subject(s): Flags; Spain; Victory; War; Wolves


THEY had come from out of the East
To ravage and burn and kill,
And they stopped for a moment to rest and wait
In a landlocked harbor still.
But a grim sea dog there was
Who had stalked them through spray and foam:
And he came, and he looked, and he smiled, and said:
"They'll never get home!"

Then another old sea dog came,
And they sat them down to wait,
Untiring, stern, through long, dry days,
At the harbor's frowning gate.
Under the hot, fierce sun,
Under the still, blue dome,
The sea dogs waited, and watched, and growled:
"They'll never get home!"

And the wolves came forth at last,
And the grim sea dogs closed in,
And the battle was won, and the Old Flag waved
Where the banner of Spain had been.
The colors of blood and gold
Sank deep in the churning foam,
And the sea dogs growled: "We have kept our word;
They'll never get home!"

Cheers for the vow well kept!
To the sea dogs twain a toast!
From our land's birth-throes have our sea dogs been
Our glory, pride, and boast.
Whatever our perils be
In the unseen years to come,
Our trust is in men like the man who said:
"They'll never get home!"





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