Page:Poems of the Great War - National Relief Fund.djvu/19



HUS only should it come, if come it must; Not with a riot of flags or a mob-born cry, But with a noble faith, a conscience high And pure and proud as heaven, wherein we trust, We who have fought for peace, have dared the thrust Of calumny for peace, and watched here die, Her scutcheons rent from sky to outraged sky By felon hands, and trampled into the dust.

We fought for peace, and we have seen the law Cancelled, not once, nor twice, by felon hands, But shattered, again, again, and yet again. We fought for peace. Now, in God's name, we draw The sword, not with a riot of flags and bands, But silence, and a mustering of men.

They challenge Truth. An Empire makes reply. One faith, one flag, one honour, and one might. From sea to sea, from height to war-worn height, The old word rings out&mdash;to conquer, or to die.