Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WORKMAN'S CHORAL SONG; AT OPENING OF DUTCH INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, by ANONYMOUS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WORKMAN'S CHORAL SONG; AT OPENING OF DUTCH INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, by                    
First Line: No monster of iron on gunpowder fed
Last Line: "we, too, have out rest and our heaven"
Subject(s): Exhibitions;labor & Laborers; World's Fairs;expositions


NO monster of Iron on gunpowder fed,
No clangor of Steel, no whizzing of Lead,
Make the blood in our arteries tingle;
But the whirl of the wheel, and the whistle of steam,
And the bubbling hiss of the seething stream,
Are the sounds where our sympathies mingle.

No Laurel that drips with the blood of the brave,
No crown that hangs over the conqueror's grave,
No wreath that is woven in weeping --
The Olive that circles the forehead of toil,
The meed of the master of metal and soil,
Is the fruit that we glory in reaping.

Oh! the roar and the foam of the fiery stream!
Oh! the rush and the shriek of the bursting steam!
No warrior's clarion is louder;
We, too, have our iron, our steel, and our lead,
But ours is living and theirs is dead,
And the music of Peace is the prouder.

Then a Song shall arise in melodious might,
To God who has severed the Dark from the Light,
And the Work and the Workman created;
By the play of the muscles He holds us in health,
By the sweat of the brow can endow us with wealth,
In the love of our labour elated.

We sow for the weal of the loved ones at home,
We know in good time that the harvest will come, --
He wins who has honestly striven:
Our toil is the salt of the bread of to-day,
And the food of our hearts is the Faith that can say,
"We, too, have our Rest and our Heaven."





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


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