"Oh, to be in England now that April 's there!" BROWNING. OH, to be in Paris now that Pershing 's there! To hear the waves of welcome that greet him with flowers, To see the children and the girls a-pelting him with flowers, And feel that every petal is meant for us and ours; To know the brave smile 's come again to worn and widowed France, Whose banners -- now, thank Heaven! with ours -- are all that's left to dance; That war, that wakens hate in those who fight for love of war, Has made a wider world of love than ever was before; To see this love find moving voice in living epigram: The Poilu and the Tommy and the Son of Uncle Sam, In a comradeship of Paris streets, like modern Musketeers, That, however near to laughter, is n't very far from tears; To see our flag that stood for faith now stand at last for works, And prove that, at the pinch of things, we have no place for shirks; To hear the hymn we sang so long, secure in sentiment, Played proudly to a land that learns how grimly it is meant. Oh, 't is a thrill to die upon, to help repay the debt We owe the gallant memory of the boyish Lafayette, -- To know that we are brothers, in spite of race or tongue, To make the round world safe for Man . . . O God, that I were young! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE MASK by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE FLOWER OF FINAE by THOMAS OSBORNE DAVIS TAKE YOUR CHOICE: NICHOLAS VACHEL LINDSAY WOULD SPEAK ... THIS MANNER by BERTON BRALEY THE BLAZED TRAIL by ABBIE FARWELL BROWN THE WANDERER: 5. IN HOLLAND: AUTUMN by EDWARD ROBERT BULWER-LYTTON HEADS, HEARTS, AND HANDS by GEORGE W. BUNGAY LINES TO MRS. KEMBLE, IN THE CHARACTER OF YARICO by ROBERT BURNS THE STREET OF THE MANY LITTLE LOVERS by MAXWELL STRUTHERS BURT UNIVERSAL GOOD, THE OBJECT OF THE DIVINE WILL; AND EVIL by JOHN BYROM |