Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PEACE ON THE TREATY IN SOUTH AFRICA IN 1902, by FRANCIS THOMPSON



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PEACE ON THE TREATY IN SOUTH AFRICA IN 1902, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Peace: - as a dawn that flares
Last Line: Let these, that speak not, be the loudest heard!
Subject(s): Boer War; Peace; South African War


PEACE: -- as a dawn that flares
Within the brazier of the barred East,
Kindling the ruinous walls of storm surceased
To rent and roughened glares,
After such night when lateral wind and rain
Torment the to-and-fro perplexed trees
With thwart encounter; which, of fixture strong,
Take only strength from the endured pain:
And throat by throat begin
The birds to make adventure of sweet din,
Till all the forest prosper into song: --
Peace, even such a peace,
(O be my words an auspice!) dawns again
Upon our England, from her lethargies
Healed by that baptism of her cleansing pain.

Ended, the long endeavour of the land:
Ended, the set of manhood towards the sand
Of thirsty death; and their more deadly death,
Who brought back only what they fain had lost,
No more worth-breathing breath, --
Gone the laborious and use-working hand.
Ended, the patient drip of women's tears,
Which joined the patient drip of faithful blood
To make of blood and water the sore flood
That pays our conquest's costliest cost.
This day, if fate dispose,
Shall make firm friends from firm and firm-met foes.
And now, Lord, since Thou hast upon hell's floor
Bound, like a snoring sea, the blood-drowsed bulk of War,
Shall we not cry, on recognising knees,
This is Thy peace?

If, England, it be but to lay
The heavy head down, the old heavy way;
Having a space awakened and been bold
To break from them that had thee in the snare, --
Resume the arms of thy false Dalila, Gold,
Shameful and nowise fair:
Forget thy sons who have lain down in bed
With Dingaan and old dynasties, nor heed
The ants that build their empires overhead;
Forget their large in thy contracted deed,
And that thou stand'st twice-pledged to being great
For whom so many children greatly bleed,
Trusting thy greatness with their deaths: if thou,
England, incapable of proffered fate,
See in such deaths as these
But purchased pledges of unhindered mart,
And hirelings spent that in thy ringed estate
For some space longer now
Thou mayst add gain to gain, and take thine ease, --
God has made hard thy heart;
Thou hast but bought thee respite, not surcease.
Lord, this is not Thy peace!

But wilt thou, England, stand
With vigilant heart and prescient brain? --
Knowing there is no peace
Such as fools deem, of equal-balanced ease: --
That they who build the State
Must, like the builders of Jerusalem,
The trowel in their hand,
Work with the sword laid ever nigh to them.
If thou hold Honour worthy gain
At price of gold and pain;
And all thy sail and cannon somewhat more
Than the fee'd watchers of the rich man's store.
If thou discern the thing which all these ward
Is that imperishable thing, a Name,
And that Name, England, which alone is lord
Where myriad-armed India owns with awe
A few white faces; uttered forth in flame
Where circling round the earth
Has English battle roared;
Deep in mid-forest African a Law;
That in this Name's small girth
The treasure is, thy sword and navies guard:
If thou wilt crop the specious sins of ease,
Whence still is War's increase, --
Proud flesh which asks for War, the knife of God,
Save to thyself, thyself use cautery;
Wilt stay the war of all with all at odd,
And teach thy jarring sons
Truth innate once, --
That in the whole alone the part is blest and great.
O should this fire of war thus purge away
The inveterate stains of too-long ease,
And yield us back our Empire's clay
Into one shoreless State
Compact and hardened for its uses: these
No futile sounds of joyance are to-day; --
Lord, unrebuked we may
Call this Thy peace!

And in this day be not
Wholly forgot
They that made possible but shall not see
Our solemn jubilee.
Peace most to them who lie
Beneath unnative sky;
In whose still hearts is dipt
Our reconciling script:
Peace! But when shouts shall start the housetop bird,
Let these, that speak not, be the loudest heard!





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