 | A Sonnet Chronicle |  |
83
The Queen's Appeal
13th November, 1905.
To all the men and women who can feel
How the fierce winter comes with dire dismay
To foodless homes, I, Alexandra, say,
“Give!” “Lo, your Queen as suppliant I appeal,
Help me to help the helpless and to heal
The sorrow of a dark and cloudy day,
Help me to keep the hunger-wolf at bay
And bless with work and bread the commonweal.”
How the fierce winter comes with dire dismay
To foodless homes, I, Alexandra, say,
“Give!” “Lo, your Queen as suppliant I appeal,
Help me to help the helpless and to heal
The sorrow of a dark and cloudy day,
Help me to keep the hunger-wolf at bay
And bless with work and bread the commonweal.”
Brave words! for how could Empress better prove
Her empire is an empire of the heart,
And that to serve is still a royal thing,
Than thus to call the starving poor apart,
And bid them underneath her pitiful wing
Find Britain's sceptre in her hands is Love.
Her empire is an empire of the heart,
And that to serve is still a royal thing,
Than thus to call the starving poor apart,
And bid them underneath her pitiful wing
Find Britain's sceptre in her hands is Love.
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