Page:The poems of Richard Watson Gilder, Gilder, 1908.djvu/296

268 O, keep him, Fate! from harm.

For on his dewy lips the bridal kiss is warm.

V

What doth he behold

Making the boy so bold?

Speak with whispering breath!

O Fate, O Fame, O radiant soul in love with glorious Death!

VI

Eyes that forward peer—

Why have they no fear?

Because, through blood and blight,

They see the golden morning burst and bring the living light;

VII

See War the fetters strike

From white and black alike;

See, past the pain and scorn,

A nation saved, a race redeemed, and freedom newly born;

VIII

See, in days to come,—

When silent War's loud drum,

Ere civic wrong shall cease,—

Heroes as pure and brave arise on battlefields of peace.

"THE NORTH STAR DRAWS THE HERO"

(TO H. N. G.)