Poems and Songs | Page 8

it shall own,
You it shall own."
OUR COUNTRY
(1859)
(See Note 4)
A land there is, lying near far-northern snow,
Where only the fissures
life's springtime may know.
But surging, the sea tells of great deeds
done,
And loved is the land as a mother by son.
What time we were little and sat on her knee,
She gave us her saga
with pictures to see.
We read till our eyes opened wide and moist,

While nodding and smiling she mute rejoiced.

We went to the fjord and in wonder beheld
The ashen-gray bauta, that
record of eld;
Still older she stood and her silence kept,
While
stone-studded hows all around us slept.
Our hands she then took and away o'er the hill
She led to the church
ever lowly and still,
Where humbly our forefathers knelt to pray,

And mildly she taught us: "Do ye as they!"
She scattered her snow on the mountain's steep side,
Then bade on
swift skis her young manhood to glide;
The North Sea she maddened
with scourge of gales,
Then bade her young manhood to hoist the
sails.
Of beautiful maidens she gathered a throng,
To follow our daring
with smiles and with song,
While she sat enthroned with her saga's
scroll
In mantle of moonlight beneath the Pole.
Then "Forward, go forward!" was borne on the wind,
"With
forefathers' aim and with forefathers' mind,
For freedom, for
Norsehood, for Norway, hurrah!"
While echoing mountains voiced
their hurrah.
Then life-giving fountains burst forth on our sight,
Then we were
baptized with her spirit of might,
Then gleamed o'er the mountains a
vision high,
That summons us onward until we die.
SONG FOR NORWAY
(1859)
NATIONAL HYMN
(See Note
5)
Yes, we love this land that towers
Where the ocean foams;
Rugged,
storm-swept, it embowers
Many thousand homes.
Love it, love it,
of you thinking,
Father; mother dear,
And that night of saga sinking

Dreamful to us here.
This the land that Harald guarded
With his hero-throng,
This the

land that Haakon warded,
Hailed by Eyvind's song.
Olaf here the
cross erected,
While his blood he shed;
Sverre's word this land
protected
'Gainst the Roman dread.
Peasants whetted axes carried,
Broke th' invader's blow;

Tordenskjold flashed forth and harried,
Lighted home the foe.

Women oft to arms were leaping,
Manlike in their deed;
Others' lot
was naught but weeping,
Tears that brought their meed.
Many truly were we never,
But we did suffice,
When in times of
testing ever
Worthy was the prize.
For we would the land see
burning,
Rather than its fall;
Memory our thoughts is turning

Down to Fredrikshald!
Harder times we bore that tried us
Were cast off in scorn;
In that
crisis was beside us
Blue-eyed freedom born.
That gave
father-strength for bearing
Famine-need and sword,
Honor death
itself outwearing,
And it gave accord.
Far our foe his weapons flinging
Up his visor raised;
We in wonder
to him springing
On our brother gazed.
Both by wholesome shame
incited
Southward made our way;
Brothers three, in heart united,

We shall stand for aye!
Men of Norway, high or lowly,
Give to God the praise!
He our
land's Defender Holy
In its darkest days!
All our fathers here have
striven
And our mothers wept,
Hath the Lord His guidance given,

So our right we kept.
Yes, we love this land that towers

Where the ocean foams;
Rugged,
storm-swept, it embowers
Many thousand homes.
As our fathers'
conflict gave it
Vict'ry at the end,
Also we, when time shall crave it,

Will its peace defend.
THE CALL
(FROM A HAPPY BOY)

Come calf now to mother,
Come lamb that I choose,
Come cats,
one and t' other,
With snowy-white shoes,
Come gosling all yellow,

Come forth with your fellow,
Come chickens so small,
Scarce
walking at all,
Come doves, that are mine now,
With feathers so
fine now!
The grass is bedewed,
The sunlight renewed,
It's early,
early, summer's advancing
But autumn soon comes a-dancing!
EVENING
(FROM A HAPPY BOY)
Evening sun in beauty is shining,
Lazy puss on the step's reclining.
"Two small mice,
Cream that was so nice,
Four fine bits of fish,

Stolen from a dish,
And I'm so good and full,
And I'm so lazy and
dull!"
Says the pussy.
Mother-hen her wings now is sinking,
Rooster stands on one leg
a-thinking:
"That gray goose,
High he flies and loose;
But just watch, you must
admit,
Naught he has of rooster-wit.
Chickens in! To the coop away!

Gladly dismiss we the sun for today!"
Says the rooster.
"Dear me, it is good to be living,
When life no labor is giving!"
Says the song-bird.
MARIT'S SONG
(FROM A HAPPY BOY)
"Dance!" called the fiddle,
Its strings loudly giggled,
The bailiff's
man wriggled
Ahead for a spree.
"Hold!" shouted Ola
And
tripped him to tumbling,
The bailiff's man humbling,
To maidens'
great glee.

"Hop!" said then Erik,
His foot struck the ceiling,
The beams rang
their pealing,
The walls gave a shriek.
"Stop!" said now Elling,

And seizing him collared,
He held him and hollered:
"You still are
too weak!"
"Hei!" said then Rasmus,
Fair Randi embracing:
"Be quick now in
placing
The kiss that you know!"
"Nay!" answered Randi.
A slapping she gave him,
And from her
she drave him:
"Here take what I owe!"
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR
(FROM A HAPPY BOY)
Love thy neighbor, to Christ be leal!
Crush him never with iron-heel,

Though in the dust he's lying!
All the living responsive await

Love with power to recreate,
Needing alone the trying.
OYVIND'S SONG
(FROM A HAPPY BOY)
Lift thy head, thou undaunted youth!
Though some hope may now
break,