Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Ay, here her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has read more

Ay, here her tattered ensign down!
Long has it waved on high,
And many an eye has danced to see
That banner in the sky.

The axis of the earth sticks out visibly through the centre of
each and every town or city.

The axis of the earth sticks out visibly through the centre of
each and every town or city.

Ah, pensive scholar, what is fame?
A fitful tongue of leaping flame;
A giddy whirlwind's fickle gust,
read more

Ah, pensive scholar, what is fame?
A fitful tongue of leaping flame;
A giddy whirlwind's fickle gust,
That lifts a pinch of mortal dust;
A few swift years, and who can show
Which dust was Bill, and which was Joe?

The crack-brained bobolink courts his crazy mate,
Poised on a bulrush tipsy with his weight.

The crack-brained bobolink courts his crazy mate,
Poised on a bulrush tipsy with his weight.

Stop not, unthinking, every friend you meet
To spin your wordy fabric in the street;
While you read more

Stop not, unthinking, every friend you meet
To spin your wordy fabric in the street;
While you are emptying your colloquial pack,
The fiend Lumbago jumps upon his back.