Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


DAWN by DANIEL MACINTYRE HENDERSON

First Line: THE HOUR OF DAWN IS THE HOUR OF DEATH
Last Line: THE HOUR OF DAWN IS THE HOUR OF LIFE!
Subject(s): ARMS & ARMOR; DAWN; DEATH; WAR; WORLD WAR I; WEAPONS; AMMUNITION; SUNRISE; DEAD, THE; FIRST WORLD WAR;

The hour of dawn is the hour of death—
I know by the gas in the morning's breath;
I know by the cannon's racking scream,
By the rifle's click, by the bayonet's gleam;
I know by our crouching, hushed platoon
That the word is neat, that the hour is soon
When we'll leap to the top with the shibboleth—
@3"The hour of dawn is the hour of death!"

The hour of dawn is the hour of life!@1
A new world springs from a world of strife!
A world uncursed by autocracy's brood;
A world of beauty and brotherhood;
A world made true to a holy plan—
The reign of love, the rule of Man!
It is hate and lust and war we knife—
@3The hour of dawn is the hour of life!@1



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