Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE VOICES, by HENRY CHAPPELL


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE VOICES, by                    
First Line: O waves, that break at my feet
Last Line: And flings the portal wide for peace.
Subject(s): Death; Heaven; Peace; War; Dead, The; Paradise


O WAVES, that break at my feet,
What saw ye out on the deep?
Saw ye the watch-dogs of our Fleet,
That guard and never sleep?
Aye! they cleave a path of gleaming white
From rising sun till the noon of night;
Their thunders answer the stricken foe,
But many a gallant heart lies low;
Wrapt in a shroud of white sea foam
Our Mother takes the sailors home.

O wind, that ruffles the deep,
Bear ye no word of cheer
Of the hearts that vigil keep
O'er the rolling wastes of fear?
Aye! for they laugh at my wildest breath,
And rush bright-eyed in the jaws of Death,
A cheer on their lips and hearts aflame
As tho' they loved the deadly game.
O they fight as men, as men they die,
And I waft their muttered prayers on high.

O stars, that glitter so cold,
Above all the seas to-night,
Can you from your Heaven behold
The flush of a Dawning bright?
Aye! the reek of guns still fouls the sky,
And still the pallid shades wing by;
But this is writ in the Book of Fate,
Twin Glories stand at the Empire's Gate,
Bright Victory bids the conflict cease
And flings the portal wide for Peace.





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