| We are the original settlers,
And this is our commonwealth We ever shall claim Both the name And the fame Which the squatter has taken by stealth. We came with the elk and the cactus Not yet was the Indian here And still we remain Though the grain Of the plain Has banished the bison and deer. We never would yield to invasion, Though enemies thickened around. When corn, wheat and rye Raised their high Battle cry We laughed at their blusterous sound. We cheered when the plowman attacked us: His furrows we hailed with delight. Wherever he trod Every rod Of his sod We seized as a prize of the fight. The Sun is our gallant defender; We thrive in his furious glow Then withers the maize In the blaze Of his rays, But we only flourish and grow. They wanted a title for Kansas, A title resplendent and great A name That should shame Every claim To her fame So they called her the Sunflower State. __Harry Edward Mills. |
Select Sunflowers
Harry Edward Mills
(Fort Scott: Sunflower Press. 1901)
Pages 9-11
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