Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ON TO BERLIN!, by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ON TO BERLIN!, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: On to berlin! And what's in the way?
Last Line: Over them, over them, on to berlin!
Subject(s): World War I; First World War


On to Berlin! And what's in the way?
Talkative geysers a-spouting all day,
Party machines with imperative grind,
Treacherous wire-pullers working behind,
Asinine critics conceitedly bold,
Primitive precedents covered with mold, --
These we must conquer if we are to win;
Over them, over them, on to Berlin!

On to Berlin! And what's in the way?
Dignified pedantry prone to delay,
Statesmen intent on their own little game,
Private producers a-doing the same,
Sinuous hyphens with hate in their hearts,
Pacifists plying their plausible arts, --
These we must vanquish and all of their kin;
Over them, over them, on to Berlin!

On to Berlin! And what's in the way?
Cowardly slackers that shrink from the fray,
Misers that cling to their pitiful dross,
Profiteers plausibly showing a loss,
Prophets who whine that it cannot be done,
Newspapers written and owned by the Hun, --
Down with their dirty, contemptible sin!
Over them, over them, on to Berlin!

On to Berlin! Sweep them out of the way,
Millions of freemen whom nothing can stay!
Make of your money a vigorous thong!
Beat them with banners and flay them with song!
Fly on the wings of your liberties, fly,
On through the realm of the jubilant sky,
Over the traitors and all of their din,
Over them, over them, on to Berlin!





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