August 17, 1914 The gabled roofs of old Malines Are russet red and gray and green, And o’er them in the sunset hour Looms, dark and huge, St. Rombold’s tower. High in that rugged nest concealed, The sweetest bells that ever pealed, The deepest bells that ever rung, The lightest bells that ever sung, Are […]

Give us a name to fill the mind With the shining thoughts that lead mankind, The glory of learning, the joy of art,– A name that tells of a splendid part In the long, long toil and the strenuous fight Of the human race to win its way From the feudal darkness into the day […]

1914-1916 What hast thou done, O womanhood of France, Mother and daughter, sister, sweetheart, wife, What hast thou done, amid this fateful strife, To prove the pride of thine inheritance In this fair land of freedom and romance? I hear thy voice with tears and courage rife,– Smiling against the swords that seek thy life,– […]

They tell me thou art rich, my country: gold In glittering flood has poured into thy chest; Thy flocks and herds increase, thy barns are pressed With harvest, and thy stores can hardly hold Their merchandise; unending trains are rolled Along thy network rails of East and West; Thy factories and forges never rest; Thou […]

I You dare to say with perjured lips, “We fight to make the ocean free”? You, whose black trail of butchered ships Bestrews the bed of every sea Where German submarines have wrought Their horrors! Have you never thought,– What you call freedom, men call piracy! II Unnumbered ghosts that haunt the wave, Where you […]

The glory of ships is an old, old song, since the days when the sea-rovers ran, In their open boats through the roaring surf, and the spread of the world began; The glory of ships is a light on the sea, and a star in the story of man. When Homer sang of the galleys […]

February, 1917 I never thought again to hear The Oxford thrushes singing clear, Amid the February rain, Their sweet, indomitable strain. A wintry vapor lightly spreads Among the trees, and round the beds Where daffodil and jonquil sleep; Only the snowdrop wakes to weep. It is not springtime yet. Alas, What dark, tempestuous days must […]

Thou warden of the western gate, above Manhattan Bay, The fogs of doubt that hid thy face are driven clean away: Thine eyes at last look far and clear, thou liftest high thy hand To spread the light of liberty world-wide for every land. No more thou dreamest of a peace reserved alone for thee, […]

Home, for my heart still calls me; Home, through the danger zone; Home, whatever befalls me, I will sail again to my own! Wolves of the sea are hiding Closely along the way, Under the water biding Their moment to rend and slay. Black is the eagle that brands them, Black are their hearts as […]

The winds of war-news change and veer: Now westerly and full of cheer, Now easterly, depressing, sour With tidings of the Teutons’ power. But thou, America, whose heart With brave Allies has taken part, Be not a weathercock to change With these wild winds that shift and range. Be thou a compass ever true, Through […]

There are many kinds of anger, as many kinds of fire; And some are fierce and fatal with murderous desire; And some are mean and craven, revengeful, sullen, slow, They hurt the man that holds them more than they hurt his foe. And yet there is an anger that purifies the heart: The anger of […]

AMERICAN FLAG SONG 1776 O dark the night and dim the day When first our flag arose; It fluttered bravely in the fray To meet o’erwhelming foes. Our fathers saw the splendor shine, They dared and suffered all; They won our freedom by the sign– The holy sign, the radiant sign– Of the stars that […]

I have no joy in strife, Peace is my great desire; Yet God forbid I lose my life Through fear to face the fire. A peaceful man must fight For that which peace demands,– Freedom and faith, honor and right, Defend with heart and hands. Farewell, my friendly books; Farewell, ye woods and streams; The […]

The rough expanse of democratic sea Which parts the lands that live by liberty Is no division; for their hearts are one. To fight together till their cause is won. For land and water let us make our pact, And seal the solemn word with valiant act: No continent is firm, no ocean pure, Until […]

Sign of the Love Divine That bends to bear the load Of all who suffer, all who bleed, Along life’s thorny road: Sign of the Heart Humane, That through the darkest fight Would bring to wounded friend and foe A ministry of light: O dear and holy sign, Lead onward like a star! The armies […]

Oh, gallantly they fared forth in khaki and in blue, America’s crusading host of warriors bold and true; They battled for the rights of man beside our brave Allies, And now they’re coming home to us with glory in their eyes. Oh, it’s home again, and home again, America for me! Our hearts are turning […]

1918 Under the cloud of world-wide war, While earth is drenched with sorrow, I have no heart for idle merrymaking, Or for the fashioning of glad raiment. I will retrace the divine footmarks, On the Road of the first Easter. Down through the valley of utter darkness Dripping with blood and tears; Over the hill […]

I It was my lot of late to travel far Through all America’s domain, A willing, gray-haired servitor Bearing the Fiery Cross of righteous war. And everywhere, on mountain, vale and plain, In crowded street and lonely cottage door, I saw the symbol of the bright blue star. Millions of stars! Rejoice, dear land, rejoice […]

Ship after ship, and every one with a high-resounding name, From the robber-nest of Heligoland the German war-fleet came; Not victory or death they sought, but a rendezvous of shame. Sing out, sing out, A joyful shout, Ye lovers of the sea! The “Kaiser” and the “Kaiserin,” The “Koenig” and the “Prinz,” The potentates of […]

In the blue heaven the clouds will come and go, Scudding before the gale, or drifting slow As galleons becalmed in Sundown Bay: And through the air the birds will wing their way Soaring to far-off heights, or flapping low, Or darting like an arrow from the bow; And when the twilight comes the stars […]