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The Ballad Of Freedom

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 In the silence of that empty tomb
From the blood shed from the cross
It thunders through our history
Reminds us of the cost
It screamed beneath the Roman boot
And banged against its marble walls
It tore the chains of every slave
Sympathetic to the cause
Within every soulless camp of death
Foul crimes of man’s deep shame
It breathed within the silent prayers
Its spirit never slain
It has knelt upon the earth and wept
And in riddles through the night
It has fed the gospels of the wronged
And defended the pleas of the right
It has ripped the robes of injustice
Wherever it remains
It fires the hearts of all good men
By example shows the way
Its power pervades the tyrant’s spell
No Caesar can compare
Christ said but He could set men free
No lesser god would dare
Its hunger feeds with mighty roar
Then gentle as a lamb
It comforts those without a friend
And lends a guiding hand
It breaks the bars that bind us fast
O little lamp spread forth your light
It feeds with honour wisdom truth
And won’t give up the fight
In every cell that held a man
Where innocence was nailed
It rests across the poppy fields
For those who reason failed
Its colours yea cannot be seen
Its flag there in the eyes
It wipes away the tears of death
And all the stains of lies
And prejudice its deadly foe
Must then concede defeat
The battle honours worn with pride
On every football field
When Shankly spoke of Socialism
The meaning clear to all
If men would bear then men would share
And all would reap reward
From oceans deep it thunders forth
From highest skies it wends
Its flaming sword held up before
Defiant ‘til the end.

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 (c) tobyjones 2nd january 2004

Notes

(c) tobyjones 2nd january 2004

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/the-ballad-of-freedom/