is the hate that sends them
To murder but not to fight.
Flower of the German Culture,
Boast of the Kaiser’s Marine,
Choose for your emblem the vulture,
Cowardly, cruel, obscene!
Forth from her sheltered haven
Our peaceful ship glides slow,
Noiseless in flight as a raven,
Gray as a hoodie crow.
She doubles and turns in her bearing,
Like a twisting plover she goes;
The way of her westward faring
Only the captain knows.
In a lonely bay concealing
She lingers for days, and slips
At dusk from her covert, stealing
Thro’ channels feared by the ships.
Brave are the men, and steady,
Who guide her over the deep—
British mariners, ready
To face the sea-wolf’s leap.
Lord of the winds and waters,
Bring our ship to her mark,
Safe from this game of hide-and-seek
With murderers in the dark!
The Peaceful Warrior
I have no joy in strife,
Peace is my great desire;
Yet God forbid I lose my life
Through fear to face the fire.
A peaceful man must fight
For that which peace demands—
Freedom and faith, honor and right,
Defend with heart and hands.
Farewell, my friendly books;
Farewell, ye woods and streams;
The fate that calls me forward looks
To a duty beyond dreams.
Oh, better to be dead
With a face turned to the sky,
Than live beneath a slavish dread
And serve a giant lie.
Stand up, my heart, and strive
For the things most dear to thee!
Why should we care to be alive
Unless the world is free?
The Winds of War-News
The winds of war-news change and veer:
Now westerly and full of cheer,
Now easterly, depressing, sour
With tidings of the Teutons’ power.
But thou, America, whose heart
With brave Allies has taken part,
Be not a weathercock to change
With these wild winds that shift and range.
Be thou a compass ever true,
Through sullen clouds or skies of blue,
To that great star which rules the night—
The star of Liberty and Right.
Lover of peace, oh set thy soul,
Thy strength, thy wealth, thy conscience whole,
To win the peace thine eyes foresee—
The triumph of Democracy.
Righteous Wrath
There are many kinds of anger, as many kinds of fire;
And some are fierce and fatal with murderous desire;
And some are mean and craven, revengeful, sullen, slow,
They hurt the man that holds them more than they hurt his foe.
And yet there is an anger that purifies the heart:
The anger of the better against the baser part,
Against the false and wicked, against the tyrant’s sword,
Against the enemies of love, and all that hate the Lord.
O cleansing indignation, O flame of righteous wrath,
Give me a soul to feel thee and follow in thy path!
Save me from selfish virtue, arm me for fearless fight,
And give me strength to carry on, a soldier of the Right!
Facta Non Verba
Deeds not Words: I say so too!
And yet I find it somehow true,
A word may help a man in need,
To nobler act and braver deed.
From Glory Unto Glory
American Flag Song
O dark the night and dim the day
When first our flag arose;
It fluttered bravely in the fray
To meet o’erwhelming foes.
Our fathers saw the splendor shine,
They dared and suffered all;
They won our freedom by the sign—
The holy sign, the radiant sign—
Of the stars that never fall.
All hail to thee, Young Glory!
Among the flags of earth
We’ll ne’er forget the story
Of thy heroic birth.
O wild the later storm that shook
The pillars of the State,
When brother against brother took
The final arms of fate.
But union lived and peace divine
Enfolded brothers all;
The flag floats o’er them with the sign—
The loyal sign, the equal sign—
Of the stars that never fall.
All hail to thee, Old Glory!
Of thee our heart’s desire
Foretells a golden story,
For thou hast come through fire.
O fiercer than all wars before
That raged on land or sea,
The Giant Robber’s world-wide war
For the things that shall not be!
Thy sister banners hold the line;
To thee, dear flag, they call;
And thou hast joined them with the sign—
The heavenly sign, the victor sign—
Of the stars that never fall.
All hail to thee, New Glory!
We follow thee unfurled
To write the larger story
Of Freedom for the World.
Who knows how many thousand years ago
The twelvefold Zodiac was made to show
The course of stars above and men below?
The great sun plows his furrow by its “lines”:
From all its “houses” mystic meaning shines:
Deep lore of life is written in its “signs.”
Aries—Sacrifice.
Snow-white and sacred is the sacrifice
That Heaven demands for what our heart doth prize:
The man who fears to suffer, ne’er can rise.
Taurus—Strength.
Rejoice, my friend, if God has made you strong:
Put forth your force to move the world along:
Yet never shame your strength to do a wrong.
Gemini—Brotherhood.
Bitter his life who lives for self alone,
Poor would he be with riches and a throne:
But friendship doubles all we are and own.
Cancer—The Wisdom of Retreat.
Learn from the crab, O runner fresh and fleet,
Sideways to move, or backward, when discreet;
Life is not all advance—sometimes retreat!
Leo—Fire.
The sign of Leo is the sign of fire.
Hatred we hate: but no man should desire
A heart too cold to flame with righteous ire.
Virgo—Love.
Mysterious symbol, words are all in vain
To tell the secret power by which you reign.
The more we love, the less we can explain.
Libra—Justice.
Examine well the scales with which you weigh;
Let justice rule your conduct every day;
For when you face the Judge you’ll need fair play.
Scorpio—Self-Defense.
There’s not a creature in the realm of night
But has the wish to live, likewise the right:
Don’t tread upon the scorpion, or he’ll fight.
Sagittarius—The Archer.
Life is an arrow, therefore you must know
What mark to aim at, how to use the bow—
Then draw it to the head and let it go!
Capricornus—The Goat.
The goat looks solemn, yet he likes to run,
And leap the rocks, and gambol in
