 | Areytos or songs and ballads of the South |  |
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MAKE GAY THE SPEAR WITH FLOWERS.
I.
Make gay the spear with flowers,And soothe the shout with song,
Conceal in pomps the proof of powers
That yet should needs be strong:
And, to the foe
Before us, show
The rosiest treasures of the spring;
Nor let the wreath
Betray, beneath,
The serpent with his deadliest sting!
II.
I know 'twere far more gratefulTo brave, and not beguile—
Confront the foe so hateful,
And smite where now we smile:
Daunt soul and ear
With shout of fear—
Take vengeance to the work of Hate—
With trumpet cry
Denounce, defy,
And drag the foe to fields of Fate!
III.
But when a people falters,Too fond of ease for strife,
Nor heeds, though round its altars
Crawls venom seeking life;
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The fields explore
Where fought the sires who made them free,
And fame is sold
For state or gold,
While lusts are strangling liberty:
IV.
When trusted talent bartersIts virtuous might for place,
And men, who should be martyrs,
Smile sleekly on disgrace—
Content to toil
For vulgar spoil—
To sell for self their people's fame,
And, with a lie,
To deify
The power that fills the land with shame:
V.
Oh then how vain to wakenThe bugle blasts of strife;
The sleep may not be shaken,
Though still it palsies life;
We can but weep
That reign of sleep,
Of lust, and self, that mocks the past—
But watch and wait
The hour when Fate
Shall rouse us with her trumpet blast!
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VI.
Yet watch and wait in armor,With weapon sharp'd, and soul
Steeled 'gainst each glozing charmer,
That now hath such control!
While brave men moan
O'er virtues gone,
They are not gone—will rouse once more:
But nurse the Power,
The Man, the Hour,
Will come, even as they came of yore!
VII.
But crown the spear with flowers,And soothe the shout with song,
Conceal in pomps the proof of powers
That yet must needs be strong:
And, to the foe
Before us, show
The rosiest treasures of the spring;
Nor let the wreath
Betray, beneath,
The serpent with his deadliest sting!
| Areytos or songs and ballads of the South | |