Page:Poems of the Great War - Cunliffe.djvu/288

 262 GILBERT THOMAS

��THE UNXONQUERED HOPE

(A ship recently arrived in England from America, laden with toys, the gift of the American people, for the children both of the AlUes and the Enemy.)

From sea to sea, from shore to shore, The clouds of death and doom

Veil the sun's soft and kindly beam ; — Yet, can ye see one light agleam Where a stately ship comes threading Its pathway thro' the gloom ?

Say ye 'tis but a ship of steel ? Are ye so dead, so blind !

Can ye not see the rainbow spray That dances on the good ship's way. Nor hear the strange, deep whispers That wander on the wind ?

What are the gifts the proud ship brings To the weary world and old ? Trifles to fill a childish hand ? Why, hardly the angels understand The richness of the treasure That lies within its hold !

�� �