The power of Armies is a visible thing...

The power of Armies is a visible thing,

Formal, and circumscribed in time and space;

But who the limits of that power shall trace

Which a brave People into light can bring

Or hide, at will,— for freedom combating

By just revenge inflamed? No foot may chase,

No eye can follow, to a fatalplace

That power, that spirit, whether on the wing

Like the strong wind, or sleeping like the wind

Within its awful caves.— From year to year

Springs this indigenous produce far and near;

No craft this subtle element can bind,

Rising like water from the soil, to find

In every nook a lip that it may cheer.