Robert Bridges. At the Farragut Statue. Hamilton Fish Armstrong, ed. 1917. The Book of New York Verse

Hamilton Fish Armstrong, ed. The Book of New York Verse. 1917.

At the Farragut Statue

By Robert Bridges


TO live a hero, then to stand
In bronze serene above the city’s throng;
Hero at sea, and now on land
Revered by thousands as they rush along.

If these were all the gifts of fame—	5
To be a shade amid alert reality,
And win a statue and a name—
How cold and cheerless immortality!

But when the sun shines in the Square,
And multitudes are swarming in the street,	10
Children are always gathered there,
Laughing and playing round the hero’s feet.

And in the crisis of the game—
With boyish grit and ardor it is played—
You’ll hear some youngster call his name:	15
“The Admiral—he never was afraid!”

And so the hero daily lives,
And boys grow braver as the Man they see!
The inspiration that he gives
Still helps to make them loyal, strong, and free!	20