Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FALL IN!, by AMELIA JOSEPHINE BURR


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FALL IN!, by                    
First Line: We thought that reason had mastered men
Last Line: In the name of our god -- fall in!
Subject(s): Fights


We thought that reason had mastered men,
That peace of the world was lord,
That never the roll of the drum again
Should quicken the thirsty sword.
But our bubble broke with a sudden blow
And we heard, like the trumpet's din
That levelled the walls of Jericho,
The old, stern cry -- "Fall in!"

We were numb, amazed, we were sick and dazed
With a horror past belief.
Silent we stood while Belgium blazed
In her martyr's glory of grief.
Then it came so near that we needs must hear
For the cry of our murdered kin
Drove in our heart like a searching spear
The call of the hour -- "Fall in!"

Not in the flush of a barren thrill
Do we come to our deed at last,
We have weighed our will; we must do our will,
For the doubting time is past.
We have faced our soul in the sleepless night
And what shall we fear but sin?
Not for love of the fight, but for the love of right,
In the name of our God -- Fall in!





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