To A Patriotic Maiden

I’ve always revered the stars and bars,

     The glorious red, white and blue;

That emblem of purity, freedom and truth,

     The trime of national hue.

But now more than ever those colors I love,

     Since she, but I can’t tell you who,

Has fashioned a waist of the daintiest style,

     Of the glorious red, white and blue.

So I swear to be loyal if never before,

     And would in life’s battles prove true;

If she would but take me as ensign to her,

     To carry that red, white and blue.

July 4, 1898

Pub. July 9,

Boston Globe,

     1898

  

Trime – the U.S. silver three-cent piece issued from 1851 to 1873. (presumably referring here to the three colors)

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trime