SONNET XIII
ENGLAND DECADENT
“This people was once a terror to the world.”
—Chatham.
If we are doomed to watch the mighty land
That warriors' swords and singers' souls made great
Reel like a helmless vessel on her fate,
Saved by no mastering voice, no pilot's hand:
If leaders take to flight when fools withstand:
If, called to manhood's service for the State,
Men tremble and argue, plead and hesitate:
If we turn suppliants, who could once command:
If England's arm has lost its power to strike,
If England's heart has lost its power to feel,
If England's tongue has lost its power to speak
Truth to her statesmen like a thunder-peal,
War would be better; wherein strong and weak
May perish, undishonoured, all alike.
December 22, 1910.
