 | Jones Very : The Complete Poems |  |
80
The War
I saw a war yet none the trumpet blew,Nor in their hands the steel-wrought weapons bare;
And in that conflict armed there fought but few,
And none that in the world's loud tumults share;
They fought against their wills, the stubborn foe
That mail-clad warriors left unfought within;
And wordy champions leave unslain below,
The ravening wolf though drest in fleecy skin;
They fought for peace; not that the world can give,
Whose tongue proclaims the war its hands have ceased;
And bids us as each other's neighbour live,
When John within our breasts has not decreased;
They fought for him whose kingdom must increase
Good will to men, on earth forever peace.
Poem No. 256; mid-September to mid-December 1838
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