 | Petition to the Deil |  |
31
SONNET
Written in Expectation of the Downfall of Prussian Militarism.
October 13, 1914.
Like Hell's own palace in our Milton's dream,
Earth saw the fabric of this Prussian power
Rise like an exhalation, tower on tower,
And cast o'er Christendom its baneful gleam.
Earth saw the fabric of this Prussian power
Rise like an exhalation, tower on tower,
And cast o'er Christendom its baneful gleam.
Or liker to that image it might seem,
That on the Plain of Dura for an hour
Threaten'd destruction that could not devour
Three recusants, who foil'd a madman's scheme.
That on the Plain of Dura for an hour
Threaten'd destruction that could not devour
Three recusants, who foil'd a madman's scheme.
But let the whole world mark! This Prussian pile,
That now begins to totter and to sway,
Shall crash upon its base of guilt and guile
Like that effigies of an earlier day
That in a despot's fancy flash'd awhile,
Then sank in ruin round its feet of clay.
That now begins to totter and to sway,
Shall crash upon its base of guilt and guile
Like that effigies of an earlier day
That in a despot's fancy flash'd awhile,
Then sank in ruin round its feet of clay.
| Petition to the Deil | |