Peace and war An Ode. By William Allingham. Reprinted, by permission, from the "Daily News." |
 |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. | XI. |
| XII. |
 | Peace and war |  |
12
XI.
War is horror, woe, and pain.Would 'twere but a poet's word!
But war must live while tyrants reign,
Who bow to nothing but the sword.
Then draw, and whirl its lightnings forth
Into the dark air of the South and North,
Till that foul potency, so far outcrept,
Be far repulsed, and surely kept
In straiter bounds; nor what this Age hath stored,
Its heritance from bygone centuries,
Its boon from effort of the brave and wise,
Fear with despotic deluge to be overswept!
| Peace and war | |