Classic Poem

We are the People, and wisdom shall die with us,
Ours shall be ever the conqueror's part,
No other nation can possibly vie with us
Either in Letters, or Science, or Art!

Twenty years hence, 'tis the general opinion,
(Think, only think, how the whole world will gain!)
All will acknowledge Columbia's dominion,
Both in the moral and physical plane.

None of the Peoples who flourished before us
Showed from the first such remarkable powers,
So let us sing in unanimous chorus,
" We are the people! The Future is Ours! "

We are, in fact, the fine flower of Humanity.
Where — save with us — can true Progress be found?
Morals and even, I fear, Christianity,
Scarcely exist in the nations around.

Art doesn't thrive in the Peoples about us,
But for our help it would probably die,
Painting would certainly perish without us,
Painters would starve if New York didn't buy.

Whether in poetry, drama or fiction,
Or in Philosophy, still we excel,
Note our remarkably elegant diction,
Notice the masterly way that we spell.

Mark our advance in the physical sciences,
Note the inventions we give to mankind,
Think of the many ingenious appliances
Due to the nimble American mind!

Europe, poor thing, can you wonder we scorn her,
Passed in the race and left lagging behind?
When we invented the Trust and the Corner,
Oh what a boon we bestowed on mankind!

Picture how Commerce was sunk in dejection,
Striving in vain to dispose of its wares,
Till these devices were brought to perfection
By the resource of our millionaires.

What is the hope, then, for civilisation?
What is the cure for a century's tears?
What — save the mighty American nation?
That is the obvious answer. Three cheers!