Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WHEN IT IS FINISHED, by MARJORIE LOWRY CHRISTIE PICKTHALL


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WHEN IT IS FINISHED, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: When it is finished, father, and we set
Last Line: That we might live.
Subject(s): Peace; World War I; First World War


WHEN it is finished, Father, and we set
The war-stained buckler and the bright blade by,
Bid us remember then what bloody sweat,
What thorns, what agony,
Purchased our wreaths of harvest and ripe ears;
Whose empty hands, whose empty hearts, whose tears
In this Gethsemane
Ransomed the days to be.

We leave them to Thee, Saviour. We've no price,
No utmost treasure of the seas or lands,
No words, no deeds, to pay their sacrifice.
Only while England stands,
Their pearl, their pride, their altar,—not their grave,—
Bid us remember in what hours they gave
All that mankind may give
That we might live.





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