 | Late songs |  |
9
IN WAR TIME
11
THE CHILDREN'S WAR
This is the Children's War, because
The victory's to the young and clean.
Up to the Dragon's ravening jaws
Run dear Eighteen and Seventeen.
The victory's to the young and clean.
Up to the Dragon's ravening jaws
Run dear Eighteen and Seventeen.
Fresh from the Chrisom waters pure,
Dear boys, so eager to attain
To the bright visions that allure,
The fierce ordeal, the red pain.
Dear boys, so eager to attain
To the bright visions that allure,
The fierce ordeal, the red pain.
The light is yet upon their curls:
The dream is still within their eyes;
Their cheeks are silken as a girl's,
The little Knights of Paradise.
The dream is still within their eyes;
Their cheeks are silken as a girl's,
The little Knights of Paradise.
O men with many scars and stains,
Stand back, abase your souls and pray!
For now to Nineteen are the gains
And golden Twenty wins the day.
Stand back, abase your souls and pray!
For now to Nineteen are the gains
And golden Twenty wins the day.
12
Brown heads with curls all rippled over,
Young bodies slender as a flame,
They leap to darkness like a lover;
To Twenty-One is fall'n the game.
Young bodies slender as a flame,
They leap to darkness like a lover;
To Twenty-One is fall'n the game.
It is the Boys' War. Praise be given
To Percivale and Galahad
Who have won earth and taken Heaven.
By violence! Weep not, but be glad.
To Percivale and Galahad
Who have won earth and taken Heaven.
By violence! Weep not, but be glad.
13
AFTER JUTLAND
The City of God is late become a seaport town
For the clean and bronzed sailors walking up and down
And the bearded Commanders, the Captains so brave,
Bringing there the taste of the sea from the salt sea wave.
For the clean and bronzed sailors walking up and down
And the bearded Commanders, the Captains so brave,
Bringing there the taste of the sea from the salt sea wave.
There are boys in the City's streets make holiday
And all around are playing-fields and the boys at play;
They dive in clear waters, climb many a high tree,
They look out as they used to do for a ship at sea.
And all around are playing-fields and the boys at play;
They dive in clear waters, climb many a high tree,
They look out as they used to do for a ship at sea.
The sailor keeps a clean soul on the seas untrod;
There is room in the great spaces for the Vision of God
Walking on the waters, bidding him not fear;
He has the very cleanest eyes so brave, so clear.
There is room in the great spaces for the Vision of God
Walking on the waters, bidding him not fear;
He has the very cleanest eyes so brave, so clear.
There's salt wind in Heaven and the salt sea-spray,
And the little midshipmen boys are shouting at their play;
There's a soft sound of waters lapping on the shore,
The sailor he is home from sea to go back no more.
And the little midshipmen boys are shouting at their play;
There's a soft sound of waters lapping on the shore,
The sailor he is home from sea to go back no more.
14
THE MOTHER
Her boys are not shut out. They come
Homing like pigeons to her door,
Sure of her tender welcome home,
As many a time before.
Homing like pigeons to her door,
Sure of her tender welcome home,
As many a time before.
Their bed is made so smooth and sweet,
The fire is lit, the table spread;
She has poured water for their feet,
That they be comforted.
The fire is lit, the table spread;
She has poured water for their feet,
That they be comforted.
As with a fluttering of wings
They are come home, come home to stay;
With all the bitter dreadful things
Forgot, clean washed away.
They are come home, come home to stay;
With all the bitter dreadful things
Forgot, clean washed away.
They are so glad to stay, so glad
They nestle to her gown's soft flow,
As in the loving times they had,
Long ago, long ago.
They nestle to her gown's soft flow,
As in the loving times they had,
Long ago, long ago.
15
Oh, not like lonely ghosts in mist
Her boys come from the night and rain,
But to be clasped, but to be kissed,
And not go out again.
Her boys come from the night and rain,
But to be clasped, but to be kissed,
And not go out again.
16
AT PARTING
It was sad weather when you went away,
Wind, and the rain was raining every day:
And all night long I heard in lonesome sleep
The water running under the bows of the ship,
All the dark night and till the dawning grey.
Wind, and the rain was raining every day:
And all night long I heard in lonesome sleep
The water running under the bows of the ship,
All the dark night and till the dawning grey.
At Salonika it is golden weather.
Go light of heart, O child, light as a feather,
Valiant and full of laughter, free as air.
God is at Salonika—here and there
God and my heart are keeping watch together.
Go light of heart, O child, light as a feather,
Valiant and full of laughter, free as air.
God is at Salonika—here and there
God and my heart are keeping watch together.
But O when you come back, though skies should weep,
The water running under the bows of the ship
Shall in my dreams make music exquisite
And all my happy sleep be drenched with it;
And you coming home, home through the hours of sleep.
The water running under the bows of the ship
Shall in my dreams make music exquisite
And all my happy sleep be drenched with it;
And you coming home, home through the hours of sleep.
17
THE TEARS
Amid the Alleluias
Small bliss of Heaven he had, alas!
Because her tears ran down like rain
And turned his blessing into bane.
Small bliss of Heaven he had, alas!
Because her tears ran down like rain
And turned his blessing into bane.
Oh, who is it doth weep and weep,
When I would run, when I would leap,
With all my blithe companions?
Whose rain of tears puts out the suns?
When I would run, when I would leap,
With all my blithe companions?
Whose rain of tears puts out the suns?
The others go in gold, in white,
In the green bowers they have delight;
They take their pleasure and their play
After the bitter yesterday.
In the green bowers they have delight;
They take their pleasure and their play
After the bitter yesterday.
They have new garments of the silk,
Red as a rose and white as milk;
But ever on my own there lies
A rain of tears puts out the skies.
Red as a rose and white as milk;
But ever on my own there lies
A rain of tears puts out the skies.
18
O mother, mother, do not weep!
Fain would I run, fain would I leap;
And of my youth would have great bliss,
But that your tears give little ease.
Fain would I run, fain would I leap;
And of my youth would have great bliss,
But that your tears give little ease.
O mother, mother, do not mourn!
Because your small tears and forlorn
Put out Heaven's candles, trickling through,
And chill me as with bitter dew.
Because your small tears and forlorn
Put out Heaven's candles, trickling through,
And chill me as with bitter dew.
Amid the Alleluias
Small joy of Heaven he had, alas!
From all the bliss of Heaven apart,
Because her tears fell on his heart.
Small joy of Heaven he had, alas!
From all the bliss of Heaven apart,
Because her tears fell on his heart.
19
THE NURSE
A year before the war God sent
And took her from her tender task,
Now that we know His kind intent
Nor why, nor wherefore, do we ask.
And took her from her tender task,
Now that we know His kind intent
Nor why, nor wherefore, do we ask.
He saw the dreadful, glorious war,
And in what scourged and bitter strait
The young souls thronging from afar
Should fall and faint at Heaven's gate.
And in what scourged and bitter strait
The young souls thronging from afar
Should fall and faint at Heaven's gate.
Red wounds for to be staunched and healed
And broken things to be made new;
The crushed sheaves of the battlefield,
Drenched with a dark and bitter dew.
And broken things to be made new;
The crushed sheaves of the battlefield,
Drenched with a dark and bitter dew.
Such weariness to put to bed,
Such heaviness to be made glad,
Such younglings to be comforted
Before their mothers came, she had.
Such heaviness to be made glad,
Such younglings to be comforted
Before their mothers came, she had.
20
Soft hands to make rough pillows smooth,
A passionate kindness for all pain
Were hers—God called her home in ruth
And pity for His broken men.
A passionate kindness for all pain
Were hers—God called her home in ruth
And pity for His broken men.
She plies her lovely business,
Goes hither and thither like a light.
To yours, to mine, she may give ease;
A King's nurse now goes clad in white.
Goes hither and thither like a light.
To yours, to mine, she may give ease;
A King's nurse now goes clad in white.
21
COLONISTS
What new star now in the sky
Needs a starry colony
That our men flock forth in troops,
All our joys, our loves, our hopes?
Needs a starry colony
That our men flock forth in troops,
All our joys, our loves, our hopes?
Wise and brave and kind they go
Through the lonesome gate and low;
All our starry colonists
Through the rains and through the mists,
Through the lonesome gate and low;
All our starry colonists
Through the rains and through the mists,
To what glories may they fare,
To what floods of ambient air,
To what rivers, to what trees,
To what dreaming palaces?
To what floods of ambient air,
To what rivers, to what trees,
To what dreaming palaces?
Just beyond the gate may be
Leagues on leagues of crystal sea,
And high galleons, poop on poop,
Where they shall go climbing up.
Leagues on leagues of crystal sea,
And high galleons, poop on poop,
Where they shall go climbing up.
24
Twisted cordage of spun gold,
Sails of silk in fold on fold.
Like a flock of heavenly birds
Sails the squadron Paradise-wards.
Sails of silk in fold on fold.
Like a flock of heavenly birds
Sails the squadron Paradise-wards.
Spicéd winds have ta'en the sails.
Singing like the nightingales
The young souls go glad and gay,
All their faces turned one way.
Singing like the nightingales
The young souls go glad and gay,
All their faces turned one way.
Now the Great Adventure calls,
And they steal, with hushed footfalls,
For there's work awaits them yonder
In a starry world of wonder.
And they steal, with hushed footfalls,
For there's work awaits them yonder
In a starry world of wonder.
Young and fond and fair and brave,
What new planet now may crave
All these starry colonists
From the rains and from the mists?
What new planet now may crave
All these starry colonists
From the rains and from the mists?
25
THE WELCOME
We will not banish them as they were lost,
But in our daily talk their names be most,
Nor from our laughter be they shut away.
But in our daily talk their names be most,
Nor from our laughter be they shut away.
We shall tell over fond old stories of them
When they were little and we leant above them
Guarding from danger as God's angels may.
When they were little and we leant above them
Guarding from danger as God's angels may.
They come no more as they were used to come,
Yet in the quiet dawning and the gloam
Whose eyes are in the shadow and whose smile
Yet in the quiet dawning and the gloam
Whose eyes are in the shadow and whose smile
Wavers and vanishes? Oh, is it you,
Child, are you come, with darkness and the dew,
To sit down and give comfort for a while?
Child, are you come, with darkness and the dew,
To sit down and give comfort for a while?
26
To sit down as of old and lay your face
On a poor heart you have left comfortless,
To draw fond arms about your golden head,
On a poor heart you have left comfortless,
To draw fond arms about your golden head,
So glad because you are not put away
Out of familiar things of every day,
Like a sad ghost dreaming that he is dead.
Out of familiar things of every day,
Like a sad ghost dreaming that he is dead.
27
THE MESSAGE
Dear angel friend, speak to his angel for her;
Tell him a mother prays his angel keep
Her little son in the battle and the horror
When all her prayers are laid away in sleep.
Tell him a mother prays his angel keep
Her little son in the battle and the horror
When all her prayers are laid away in sleep.
All day her prayers flow like a running river
Under the eyes of Him, mighty and kind.
His angel's prayers shall be as a sweet savour
Lest that her bitter need be out of mind.
Under the eyes of Him, mighty and kind.
His angel's prayers shall be as a sweet savour
Lest that her bitter need be out of mind.
Go tell his angel, where Death flies and hovers
Her son, her little son, is under the swords.
Blue are his eyes as pools the June sky covers,
Brown his young head, as brown as any bird's.
Her son, her little son, is under the swords.
Blue are his eyes as pools the June sky covers,
Brown his young head, as brown as any bird's.
Tell him the boy is young and tall for token;
Pluck thou his angel that he speed, alert;
Lest that her trust of eighteen years be broken,
Lest that her precious young son should be hurt.
Pluck thou his angel that he speed, alert;
Lest that her trust of eighteen years be broken,
Lest that her precious young son should be hurt.
28
Tell him he fights amid the gloomy mountains
So slight, so brave, against the terrible Kings.
Say that he thirsts and harsh earth has no fountains,
Say that he falls—oh, pluck his angel's wings!
So slight, so brave, against the terrible Kings.
Say that he thirsts and harsh earth has no fountains,
Say that he falls—oh, pluck his angel's wings!
Shout to his angel if he should be roaming
That her one little son's lost if he fail.
Bid him be quick and splendid at his coming,
Dreadful with beauty so that he prevail.
That her one little son's lost if he fail.
Bid him be quick and splendid at his coming,
Dreadful with beauty so that he prevail.
29
FOR AN AIRMAN
Having found wings, he tossed, light as a feather,
Airy as thistledown, 'twixt earth and sky.
Oh, but the dark earth held his soul in tether!
Could he come back who knew what 'twas to fly?
Airy as thistledown, 'twixt earth and sky.
Oh, but the dark earth held his soul in tether!
Could he come back who knew what 'twas to fly?
His gravitation's now for stars and planets:
These draw him, while the earth drops like a stone.
Strong-winged beyond the flight of gulls or gannets
He rises, ever rises; he is flown.
These draw him, while the earth drops like a stone.
Strong-winged beyond the flight of gulls or gannets
He rises, ever rises; he is flown.
When he came back all Spring was in his vision;
Yet pined he like a wild bird in a net.
His dreams were all of fields and groves Elysian
Where he flew ever and no bounds were set.
Yet pined he like a wild bird in a net.
His dreams were all of fields and groves Elysian
Where he flew ever and no bounds were set.
Did someone bring his body down? Then gaily
He waved to his foe: “Your luck to-day, not mine”;
Shook himself free of bonds that irked him daily
With the last courtesy, so brave and fine.
He waved to his foe: “Your luck to-day, not mine”;
Shook himself free of bonds that irked him daily
With the last courtesy, so brave and fine.
30
He has o'erflown return in the wild rapture.
What rumour of him in the unending space?
Flying so far, so fast, beyond recapture;
The flying ecstasy bright in his face.
What rumour of him in the unending space?
Flying so far, so fast, beyond recapture;
The flying ecstasy bright in his face.
31
THE PRAYER
She drew the grey shawl round her head;
“Sure it is bitter cold,” she said;
“An' is there news of him, asthore?”
God help the mothers of the world!
“Sure it is bitter cold,” she said;
“An' is there news of him, asthore?”
God help the mothers of the world!
“I do be prayin' to mesel'
The Lord may keep him safe and well
An' bring him back to his mother's door.”
God help the mothers of the world!
The Lord may keep him safe and well
An' bring him back to his mother's door.”
God help the mothers of the world!
“The lambs are perished wid the storm.
God keep his darlin' head from harm!
It's well for her has ne'er a one!”
God help the mothers of the world!
God keep his darlin' head from harm!
It's well for her has ne'er a one!”
God help the mothers of the world!
And as I went my way I heard
Her call like a lamenting bird:
“I used to fret that had no son.”
God help the mothers of the world!
Her call like a lamenting bird:
“I used to fret that had no son.”
God help the mothers of the world!
32
IN THY LIKENESS
Now those who would and who would not
Must drink Thy bitter Cup.
No angels in their garden plot
Their heads have lifted up.
Must drink Thy bitter Cup.
No angels in their garden plot
Their heads have lifted up.
They have been scourged and been stripped bare
As Thou wast long ago:
The bloodied thorns are in their hair,
Pressed deep as Thou didst know.
As Thou wast long ago:
The bloodied thorns are in their hair,
Pressed deep as Thou didst know.
They have toiled up Thy Calvary hill
And fainted 'neath their load:
With a good will or an ill will
Have taken the whip, the goad.
And fainted 'neath their load:
With a good will or an ill will
Have taken the whip, the goad.
And they with Thee are crucified
Whether they will or no:
Now bid to left side and right side
Thy healing mercies flow.
Whether they will or no:
Now bid to left side and right side
Thy healing mercies flow.
33
Yea, when Thou dost commend Thy Sprite
And the Third Hour has struck,
Summon from left hand and from right
Thy black and Thy white flock!
And the Third Hour has struck,
Summon from left hand and from right
Thy black and Thy white flock!
On these, on those, Thy judgments fell.
They died because they must.
Give them Thy Eastertide as well
And New Life from the dust.
They died because they must.
Give them Thy Eastertide as well
And New Life from the dust.
When with Ascension Thou dost rise
Shall these not rise and go,
To find once more the Paradise
They lost so long ago?
Shall these not rise and go,
To find once more the Paradise
They lost so long ago?
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