Page:A New Zealand verse (1906).pdf/49

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The Battle of the Free.
13
    To arms! To arms!
  When the battle rages fierce,
  And the deadly volleys pierce
The small outnumbered army of the Island of the Free;—
When her dauntless hearts have chosen either death or victory;—
Where her warriors are fighting, as the bravest only dare,
For the birthplaces of freedom and the liberties of man;—
  Then New Zealand shall be there,
   In the van.
  Young New Zealand shall be there,—
Her rifles from the mountain and her horsemen from the plain
When the foeman’s ranks are reeling o’er the slain.
  Few in number—stout of heart—
  They will come to take their part
In the dangers and the glories of the brave,
To share in their triumph or their blood-stained grave.
    England, exult!
For thy numberless sons are coming o’er the sea,
To rally round the banner of the Island of the Free.
  Oh, England! bear thee proudly
   In the direst need of war;
  For thy sons,— the sons of Freedom,
   Are sailing from afar.
  They are coming—they are coming—
 To surround the banner of the Island of the Sea,
And to fight in the Battle of the Free.

Charles C. Bowen.

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