 | War poems with some others |  |
11
To the Dominions
Sons of those stout adventurers who set forth long ago
To found the vast dominion that marches with the snow,
And you whose great forefathers in little ships defied
Uncharted seas and tamed wild lands to be our Austral pride,
How nobly has your swift response revealed the island breed
That rallied to the mother's call in this her hour of need,
When those we had armed for left us, who had made their cause our own,
On freedom's menaced bulwark to face the spears alone.
To found the vast dominion that marches with the snow,
And you whose great forefathers in little ships defied
Uncharted seas and tamed wild lands to be our Austral pride,
How nobly has your swift response revealed the island breed
That rallied to the mother's call in this her hour of need,
When those we had armed for left us, who had made their cause our own,
On freedom's menaced bulwark to face the spears alone.
Not only have you all renounced the peace your sires had won,
Accepting with no faltering voice the challenge of the Hun,
But warm hearts half the world away of mothers and of wives
Prepare kind welcome in their homes to shield our children's lives.
We can face the fight in firmer faith who know beyond the sea
Your love for Britain still inspires such splendid loyalty.
Accepting with no faltering voice the challenge of the Hun,
12
Prepare kind welcome in their homes to shield our children's lives.
We can face the fight in firmer faith who know beyond the sea
Your love for Britain still inspires such splendid loyalty.
| War poems with some others | |