_The Guns of H.M.S. Victory_
Therefore on thee we call, O Mother, for we are thy sons.
Speak, with thy world-wide voice, O wake us anew from our sleep!
Speak, for the Light of the world still lives and grows on thy face.
Give us the ancient Word once more, the unchangeable Word,--
This that Nelson knew, this that Effingham heard,
This that resounds for ever in all the hearts of our race,
This that lives for a moment on the iron lips of our guns,
This--that echoes for ever and ever--the Word of the Deep.
V
_The Guns of H.M.S. Dreadnought_
How shall a king be saved by the multitude of an host?
Was not the answer thine, when fleet upon fleet swept, hurled
Blind thro' the dark North Sea, with all their invincible ships?
Thine was the answer, O mother of all men born to be free!
Witness again, Cape Wrath!--O thine, everlastingly,
Thine as Freedom arose and rolled thy song from her lips,
Thine when she 'stablished her throne in thy sight, on our rough
rock-coast,
Thine with thy lustral glory and thunder, washing the world.