All in the sullied hours,
While the pirates stood away
Out of the murk and horror
In a sheer white burst of spray,
Leaving the wreck to settle
Under its winding sheet,
I felt the city shudder
And stir beneath my feet.
Thrilling against the morning,
As audible as song,
I heard the city waken
Out of her night of wrong.
That was a day to cherish
When Rhett and a gallant few
Summoned the best among us;
Called for a daring crew.
New and raw at the business,
To the smithy's roar and clang,
We drove our aching muscles
And as we worked we sang,
Until one blowing morning
With summer on the sea,
The Henry to the windward,
The Sea Nymph down alee,
Flecking the wide Atlantic
With a flaring, lacy track,
We went, as glad as the winds are glad,
To buy our honor back.