The common tasks that still remain altho all warfare cease, And the daily toll of vigilance demanded by the Lord. Peace among sons of Adam; ally ye, all good folk; Revolt in a common effort against a common yoke. War to the hilt with nature, conquer from cloud to soil; Air and ocean before you lie vanquished by common toil. Win freedom as ye did from men by stubborn stroke on stroke. But none may strive with nature with sword-blades torn by rust, And defeat awaits the army dissevered by mistrust, First must we cleanse the nation of greed and hateborn lies, And forego unequal favor as a willing sacrifice. O God! above all blessings, make Thou our country just! A VISION OF PEACE WALLACE RICE FITLY one dies for his country, sweet is the death she bestows; Glad is the red field of battle, gayly the bright trumpet blows; Forth as a bride to her bridegroom Death to the warrior goes. Bitter the long life of duty, seeking nor laurel nor bay, Striving with foes of the Nation grasping her honor as prey, Glanced at askance by his fellows, walking the long, narrow way. Gallant the charge and the onslaught, cheering together to go; Silent and lonely the warfare 'gainst an insidious foe: Glory and death are the soldier's; hatred and life others know. Fighting America's battles whether by land or by sea, Who could be less than a hero under that flag of the Free? Read of, and cherish, and love them-such are the men all would be. Treason is death in the army, death's for the enemy's spy: Think you no André nor Arnold dwells within sight of your eye? Perfidy to great ideals, that must you strike till you die! Vigilance, ceaseless, eternal, ever was Liberty's price: If you are slaves, 'twas your fathers left you to slavish device; Would you make slaves of your children? Sleep for a time-'t will suffice. Truth is the right of your country: Lie, and she lies to your grief; Honor, and that is your country's: Bribe, and you bribe her as lief; Honesty, that is your country's: Thieve, and she, too, is a thief. Too much the world thinks on Dives: Harken to Lazarus, too, All of his sores are his country's: Heal them if you would be true Heal them, or share an infection you and your children must rue. Never was minted a dollar equal in worth to a tear, Never success worth the having gained through another soul's fear: Smiles mark the highway to triumph when a man's title is clear. Still at the eye of the needle Selfishness struggles his fill. No man may serve God and Mammon: Love - Love alone is God's will. Scourged were the changers of money - Greed stands the root of all ill. No end can justify evil: Piety, Culture, and State Stand as accursèd forever, else on Jehovah must wait: Think you for "civilization" God will His Justice abate? Dear is the thought of the Nation; dearer is Freedom to me; Dearest of all through the ages, Truth, that alone makes us free: Verity, Liberty, Country, grant us their union to see! Plant high the Cross on the hilltop, thither in humbleness strive! Offer no children to Mammon-luxury lets no man thrive; Feed not our bravest to Moloch-must the unfittest survive? Ever is war deed for savage, born of the ancestral taint. Slay? So do beasts that shall perish: Where is Man's God-like restraint? Leave them their teeth and their talons; leave him the fight of the Saint! Brave are the victors in combat; brave were the conquered as well. Valor sits close by the dying; valor the living, too, spell. Courage far finer than carnage Peace, serene, smiling, can tell. Beaten our swords into ploughshares, fortresses turned into schools, Cavalry tilling the prairie, infantry busy with tools, Navies deep laden with bounty-thus fair America rules: Throughout the breadth of the Union Happiness all the day long, Ever a Hope for the nations, everywhere music and song, Always our Stars the World's Conscience, Stripes against tyrants and Wrong. Day of Good Will, speed your coming! Justice and Mercy, increase! Love for the loveless, grow mighty! Hate for the hatefullest, cease! So shall Man win his last battle, led by the Christ Who is Peace. SOLDIERS OF PEACE BAYARD TAYLOR IT is the brave that first forget, Then slink when comes the need to smite. His proud tears wash away! 'Tis time your bard restrung his harp, |