An Edgar A. Guest poem for the holiday

THE BOY AND THE FLAG

Edgar A Guest

I want my boy to love his home,

His Mother, yes, and me:

I want him, wheresoe'er he'll roam,

With us in thought to be.

I want him to love what is fine,

Nor let his standards drag,

But, Oh! I want that boy of mine

To love his country's flag!

I want him when he older grows

To love all things of earth;

And Oh! I want him, when he knows,

To choose the things of worth.

I want him to the heights to climb

Nor let ambition lag;

But, Oh! I want him all the time

To love his country's flag.

I want my boy to know the best,

I want him to be great;

I want him in Life's distant West,

Prepared for any fate.

I want him to be simple, too,

Though clever, ne'er to brag,

But, Oh! I want him, through and through,

To love his country's flag.

I want my boy to be a man,

And yet, in distant years,

I pray that he'll have eyes that can

Not quite keep back the tears

When, coming from some foreign shore

And alien scenes that gag,

Borne on its native breeze, once more

He sees his country's flag.

From Collected verse of EDGAR A. GUEST, published 1934 by Contemporary Books, Inc.