Page:Main Street and other poems, Kilmer, 1917.djvu/83

MAIN STREET AND OTHER POEMS

THE WHITE SHIPS AND THE RED (continued) "But never crashing iceberg

Nor honest shot of foe,

Nor hidden reef has sent me

The way that I must go.

My wound that stains the waters,

My blood that is like flame,

Bear witness to a loathly deed,

A deed without a name.

"I went not forth to battle,

I carried friendly men,

The children played about my decks,

The women sang—and then—

And then—the sun blushed scarlet

And Heaven hid its face,

The world that God created

Became a shameful place!

"My wrong cries out for vengeance,

The blow that sent me here

Was aimed in Hell. My dying scream

Has reached Jehovah's ear. [ 77 ]