This poem comes with much baggage, all of which can be found on the Net for those who are interested. It is one of the seminal hymn-poems of the British nation and should not be allowed to fade away, which is why I am reading it here. Our heritage is to be honoured, not reviled as has been the fashion over the last few decades. Mercifully, the tide is now rapidly turning and we can celebrate what we were and are.
FOR REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY:
IN MEMORIAM PETER FRANK HENRY KINGMAN
Urbs Dei or The Two Fatherlands
by Sir Cecil Spring-Rice (1859-1918)
I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
I heard my country calling, away across the sea,
Across the waste of waters she calls and calls to me.
Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,
And round her feet are lying the dying and the dead.
I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns,
I haste to thee my mother, a son among thy sons.
And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.
