He wears an empty sleeve By whose command were legions swayed; Who heard in ears long deaf to boom of cannon, scream of steel The wail of little children fatherless, The moan of mothers crucified, The ruthless tread of hun on hun A hundred fold incarnate fiends. He led and fought and bled In Greece, in France, And on his head among the thorns of sacrifice Are stars full gleam, and in his heart The blood that princes shrink to shed. Fearless and maimed he leads Among the poppy fields and grain bloodspread To victory, to liberty,—humanity! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PRAYERS by HENRY CHARLES BEECHING FATHER LAND AND MOTHER TONGUE by SAMUEL LOVER SONNET: 17 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE TIPPERARY: 3. AS THE INTERLINEARS MIGHT TAKE IT FROM XENOPHON by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS THE LETTER by MUHAMMAD AL-MU'TAMID II LITTLE JOHN AND THE RED FRIAR; A LAY OF SHERWOOD by WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN |