Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WAR (ON THE GERMAN INVASION OF BELGIUM), by EDWARD BLISS REED


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WAR (ON THE GERMAN INVASION OF BELGIUM), by                    
First Line: They who take the sword
Last Line: With the sword they shall be slain.
Subject(s): Fights; Swords; Victory; World War I - Belgium


They who take the sword,
To slay for lust of gain,
With fleets in air, with ships at sea,
Vast armies, Death's artillery,
Can they break the might of the Lord's decree?
With the sword they shall be slain.

They who take the sword,
In swords have put their trust.
Their foes shall be the unnumbered dead,
(No sentry hears that army's tread)
Who shall dash the crown from the victor's head,
And trample it in the dust.

They who take the sword,
A child shall their end foretell;
One dying mother's faintest sigh,
One girl's imploring, piercing cry,
Shall ring like a blast in their souls till they die,
Shall ring through their souls in hell.

They who take the sword,
What gain is victory?
Though blood-drenched flags in triumph float,
Their new-won lands are a burial moat;
Better, with millstone 'round the throat,
Were they flung to the pitiless sea.

They who take the sword,
For lust, and hate, and gain,
The strength of the hills 'gainst them is set,
The sword of the spirit is sharper yet,—
For God hath said—shall God forget?—
With the sword they shall be slain.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net