Oklahoma.

A poem by Freeman Edwin Miller

Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Land, O, land of the Fair God,
Land where ancient, savage races
Through barbarian ages trod!
Through thy story fancy traces
Facts above what fictions say,
Where the world with haste advances,--
Born are nations in a day!
Where the wigwam stood so lonely,
Lordly cities rise in might;
Where spread desert wildness only,
Fertile farms and homes delight.
Thou hast summoned to thy bosom
From the ends of all the earth,
All the youngest, strongest, bravest,
Full of will and wondrous worth.
O'er thy valleys grow the blossoms
Culled from earth's remotest sod;
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Land, O, Land of the Fair God!

Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
There is music in thy name.
There is gladness in thy glory,
There is fondness in thy fame!
In the wonders of thy story
Shines the sheen of noble deed,
Brighter than the glare of battle
Where the warriors toil and bleed;
Ruling with immortal forces,
There is found the king of might,
Over all thy great resources
By the strength of truth and right.
With thy happy sons and daughters,
Live the virtues fair and pure,
And the better angels guiding
Keep their hearts and souls secure.
There are treasures in thy valleys,
There are treasures in thy hills;
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
How thy name my bosom thrills!

Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Child of law and liberty,
Thou art always true and tender,
Thou art ever dear to me!
I will always praises render
To the grandeur of thy worth,
For the fortunes all presided
At the moment of thy birth.
Pleasures in their pure completeness
O'er thy pleasant prairies shine,
And the raptures run with fleetness
Through the happy vales of thine.
Thou art empress of the angels,
Thou art queen of all the gods,
And the happiness of heaven
O'er thy laughing valleys nods.
I will always crown with praises
All thy glories, O, my state;
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Thou art greatest of the great!

Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Bravest are thy noble sons,
In the thunders of the battle,
And the roaring of the guns!
Flash of sword and musket's rattle
Never fearful terror gave
To the staunch and valiant bosoms
Of thy happy hosts and brave.
When the roars of hell grow louder,
And the mountains shake in fright,
In the lurid clouds of powder,
They are foremost in the fight;
And when bayonet and musket,
Sword and saber, slaughter cease,
They are tenderest and truest
In the silent ways of peace.
O, my state! A stream of greatness
From thy mighty people runs;
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Bravest are thy noble sons!

Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Fairest are thy daughters fair,
In the thousand deeds of duty
Thou hast given them to bear;
Peerless is their wondrous beauty,
Bright with blushes as the rose,
Pure as petals of the lily,
White as newly-fallen snows;
And their voices bright with blessing
Banish misery and woe,
While their fingers' soft caressing
Soothes the fevers from the brow.
Souls are always blessed with brightness
Bosoms filled with goodly pearls,
Hearts forever harvest gladness,
In the glances of thy girls.
They are robed in golden garments,
Nature's vestments, rich and rare;
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Fairest are thy daughters fair!

Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Sweetest are thy happy homes,
Smiling in the holy gladness
Which above thee always roams;
They are never linked with sadness,
They are never bound with pains,
For the sunshine of enjoyment
Rules the people of thy plains.
Songs are singing with thy maidens,
Music echoes with thy wives,
Rapture slays the grief that ladens
All the gladness of their lives.
Happiness is with thy husbands,
And thy swains are blest with joy,
While the fondest rapture rises
In the hearts of girl and boy.
Pleasures linger in thy woodlands,
Gladness on thy prairies roams;
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Sweetest are thy happy homes!

Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Thou shall ever live in song;
Freedom, near to nature, raises
Temples that to thee belong;
Minstrels shall in merry praises
Wind their music o'er thy name
Till the voices of the ages
Shout for thee in wild acclaim;
They shall sing with tender pleasure
Beauty of thy daughters true;
Sing, in high, exultant measure,
Deeds thy sons in battle do.
Sages shall in wisdom offer
Full rewards of love to thee,
And shall crown thy land and people
Favorites of liberty.
All thy glory shall be shining
Through the cycles clear and strong;
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Though shall ever live in song!

Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Romance of the ages, thou!
Now, unknown; a moment later.
Kingly crowns upon thy brow!
Child of all the nations, greater
Shall thy splendors year by year
Grow unfading, bringing bounties
Full of happiness and cheer!
Morning saw a desert sleeping,
Worn and wasted with distress;
Night beheld an empire keeping
Watch above the wilderness.
Progress with her wand of magic
Touched the sleeping valleys bright,
And they leaped with instant vigor,
Shaking out their locks of might;
Earth shall send her fairest blossoms
As a garland for thy brow;
Oklahoma! Oklahoma!
Romance of the ages thou!