Classic Poem

Come, then, ye Masons wise,
Come with sound ears and eyes,
Join me in spirit, and with hand in hand,
Cross the broad waters o'er
Old Canaan to explore,
And make our Crusade to the Holy Land!
Honor to him who fills the East ,
For Wisdom's rule revered;
Honor to him who fills the W EST ,
For Help and Strength endeared;
Honor to him who fills the S OUTH ,
Model of Beauty, Grace and Truth.

Oh, glorious task! to dig in sacred soil
'Neath ruined towers and temples where the hands
Of nine score thousand craftsmen wrought in toil
Sublime! Oh, to rehearse our Master's dread command
Amidst those scenes inspired! oh, to join
Around those altars loving hand and heart!
In all this Lodge terrestrial there's no shrine
Like that where first was wrought Masonic Art.

What is the Mason's speech?
How does the Master teach
The undying thoughts that we call Masonry ?
Mysterious dialect
Where sharpened souls detect
The inmost secrets of the mystic tie!
'Tis no mere local tongue
Informs our world-wide throng;
No! 'tis the hand, the lip, the face, the eye:
These make the unerring voice
That bids our souls rejoice
When hand in hand we form the mystic tie.