We think it fitting to start off with one about the College’s noble emblem, the eagle, as a positive symbol of our highest pursuits.  Featured in the 1946 issue and written by a John’s student simply named “R.J.” 

These Eagles
by R.J.

Proud Rome once raised her eagles to the sky,
And legions marched to death beneath the sign
That meant endeavour, glory; down the line
Men fought to keep the tossing standard high,
And poured their blood to keep it free from shame.
So John, who sought an emblem that would fire
All men to raise God’s glory even higher,
Chose Rome’s grim eagle, conquering where it came.

Now has a southern eagle spread his wings,
Whose high and holy ancestry we hail.
And we, the eagle’s brood, shall higher fly
Till Caesar’s eagles seem our underlings –
Thus honouring her, her whom we shall not fail –
The mother of the masters of the sky.