Free At Last

Oh, we've seen battles, and we've seen blood,
And we've been through the wars.
But it's nearly done; it's nearly time
To look up and see the stars,
And lean back, and shake our heads,
And start comparing scars.
	Ah! at last, we are free at last!

Though sometimes our stomachs quaked,
And shook with fear and dread,
And we came into the meeting-place
While with sickness our hearts sped,
It's nearly time to blink, and look,
And realize we're not dead.
	Ah! at last, we are free at last!

Though lashed, with chains upon our wings,
We sat on the ground,
And glared at the paper-fetters,
Loathing the way we were bound,
It's nearly time for the chains to snap
With a shrill and a singing sound.
	Ah! at last, we are free at last!

For sometimes our fear flew
To sit upon a rafter,
While we spoke with grace and patience-
Let us remember that hereafter!
Consign to oblivion the pain and fear,
And remember best the laughter!
	Ah! at last, we are free at last!

And, as on any battlefield,
Deeds of courage were enacted,
Whether it was in how we spoke,
Or, sometimes, not reacted,
Not showing, sometimes, how cruelly deep
A particular blow had impacted.
	Ah! at last, we are free at last!

And there was courage, too, in the aftermath,
Whichever way was which;
Whether we made peace in silence,
Or called someone to bitch;
Whether we got drunk and relaxed,
Or fell for a while into pain's ditch.
	Ah! at last, we are free at last!

Strong we are, like new-made swords
Passed through the tempering fire;
Struck down though we sometimes are,
We still laugh, and achieve, and aspire;
Struck down though we sometimes are,
We but laugh, and leap, and soar higher.
	Ah! at last, we are free at last!

And now, as we enter the final stretch,
Become caught in the final rush,
And our minds seem raided of ideas
When with ideas we need them lush,
Let us concentrate, and find the peace
We need from stress in an inner hush.
	Ah! at last, we are free at last!

For no class or paper, though overmastering,
Our fate or time forever controls;
And we are in the rebirth of spring,
The green renaissance of our souls.
One more rush, and then the final rest
As spring into rich summer rolls.
	Ah! at last, we are free at last!