World War, 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918 -- Poetry
Great-hearted England, we have fought the fight
Together, and our mingled blood has flowed.
Full well we know that underneath that mask
Of cool indifference there beats a heart,
Grim as your own gaunt ships when duty calls,
Yet warm and gentle as your summer skies:
A Nation's heart that beats throughout a land
Where Kings may be beloved, and Monarchy
Can teach Republics how they may be free.
Ah! What has England done? When came the call,
She counted not the cost, but gave her all!
VILDA SAUVAGE OWENS
_By permission of the Author_
IN THE MORNING
Back from battle, torn and rent,
Listing bridge and stanchions bent
By the angry sea.
By Thy guiding mercy sent,
Fruitful was the road we went--
Back from battle we.
If Thou hadst not been, O Lord, behind our feeble arm,
If Thy hand had not been there to slam the lyddite home,
When against us men uprose and sought to work us harm,
We had gone to death, O Lord, in spouting rings of foam.
Heaving sea and cloudy sky
Saw the battle flashing by,
As Thy foemen ran.
By Thy grace, that made them fly,
We have seen two hundred die
Since the fight began.
If our cause had not been Thine, for Thy eternal Right,
If the foe in place of us had fought for Thee, O Lord!
If Thou hadst not guided us and drawn us there to fight
We never should have closed with them--Thy seas are dark and broad.
Through the iron rain they fled,
Bearing home the tale of dead,
Flying from Thy sword.
After-hatch to fo'c's'le head,
We have turned their decks to red,
By Thy help, O Lord!
It was not by our feeble sword that they were overthrown,
But Thy right hand that dashed them down, the servants of the proud;
It was not arm of ours that saved, but Thine, O Lord, alone,
When down the line the guns began, and sang Thy praise aloud.
Sixty miles of running fight,
Finished at the dawning light,
Off the Zuider Zee.
Thou that helped throughout the night
Weary hand and aching sight,
Praise, O Lord, to Thee.
KLAXON
_By permission of Wm. Blackwood & Sons,
Edinburgh_
ORDER TO THE CANADIAN ARMY CORPS
(_March 27, 1918_)
Looking back with pride on the unbroken record of your glorious
achievements, asking you to realize that to-day the fate of the British
Empire hangs in the balance, I place my trust in the Canadian Corps,
knowing that where Canadians are engaged, there can be no giving way.
Under the orders of your devoted officers in the coming battle, you
will advance, or fall where you stand, facing the enemy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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