Let “The Flag” Droop

Let “The Flag” droop, this is no time for mirth,
     Joy is suspended in this hour of Fate;
Let sympathetic souls o’er all the earth
     Bewail the dire result of murderous hate.

Red-handed Anarchy, a victim sought;
     Red-handed Anarchy, a victim found;
A nation’s loss, a widow’s grief is nought
     To ruthless beasts of prey who lurk around.

Ingratitude! that braced a traitor’s hand
     Has spread from sea to sea a funeral pall.
Is there a tongue so cruel in the land
     That can the foul assassin’s deed extol?

The brightest mark attracts vile Envy’s gaze;
     Hate strikes the foremost of the multitude;
Champions of right sleep in untimely graves—
     Chieftains, whose chief offense was being good.

The annals of the martyred of our race
     Shall long preserve McKinley’s stainless name;
His faith in God, that softened death’s embrace
     Shall add fresh luster to Columbia’s fame.

Let “The Flag” droop. Treason its shaft has hurl’d!
     Pity the widowed wife, the lonely mate.
Let “The Flag” droop, andshow [sic] to all the world
     That Freedom’s sons respect the truly great.