Over Here Part 18

I left him in his battle, left him there to end his play, For he'd taught to me a lesson that is needed much to-day; Not the lure of cake could turn him from the work he had to do; There was nothing so important as to see his struggle through.

And I wondered all that evening, as he slumbered in his bed If we'd risen to the meaning of the work that lies ahead?

Are we roused to the importance of the danger in our way?

Are we thinking still of pleasures as we thought but yesterday?

Are our comforts and our riches in our minds still uppermost?

Must we wait, to see our danger, till the foe is on our coast?

Oh, there's nothing so important, nothing now that's worth a pin Save the war that we are fighting. It's a war we've got to win.

Selfishness

Search history, my boy, and see What petty selfishness has done.

Find if you can one victory That little minds have ever won.

There is no record there to read Of men who fought for self alone, No instance of a single deed splendor they may proudly own.

Through all life's story you will find The miser--with his h.o.a.rded gold-- A hermit, dreary and unkind, An outcast from the human fold.

Men hold him up to view with scorn, A creature by his wealth enslaved, A spirit craven and forlorn, Doomed by the money he has saved.

No man was ever truly great Who sought to serve himself alone, Who put himself above the state, Above the friends about him thrown.

No man was ever truly glad Who risked his joy on h.o.a.rded pelf, And gave of nothing that he had Through fear of needing it himself.

For selfishness is wintry cold, And bitter are its joys at last, The very charms it tries to hold, With woes are quickly overcast.

And only he shall gladly live, And bravely die when G.o.d shall call, Who gathers but that he may give, And with his fellows shares his all.

Constant Beauty

It's good to have the trees again, the singing of the breeze again, It's good to see the lilacs bloom as lovely as of old.

It's good that we can feel again, the touch of beauties real again, For hearts and minds, of sorrow now, have all that they can hold.

The roses haven't changed a bit, nor have the peonies stranged a bit, They bud and bloom the way they did before the war began.

The world is upside down to-day, there's much to make us frown to-day And gloom and sadness everywhere beset the path of man.

But now the lilacs bloom again and give us their perfume again And now the roses smile at us and nod along the way; And it is good to see again the blossoms on each tree again And feel that nature hasn't changed the way we have to-day.

Oh, we have changed from what we were, we're not the carefree lot we were, Our hearts are filled with sorrow now and grave concern and pain, But it is good to see once more the budding lilac tree once more, And find the constant roses here to comfort us again.

When the Drums Shall Cease to Beat

When will the laughter ring again in the way that it used to do?

Not till the soldiers come home again, not till the war is through.

When will the holly gleam again and the Christmas candles burn?

Not till the swords are sheathed once more and the brave of our land return.

When will happy hearts meet again in the lights of the Christmas tree?

Not till the cannons cease their roar and the sailors come from sea.

When shall we sing as we used to do and dance in the old-time way?

Not till the soldiers come home again and the bugles cease to play.

Oh, dull is the red of the holly now and faintly the candles burn; And we long for the smile of the missing face and the absent one's return.

We long for the laughter we used to know and the love that made giving sweet, But we must wait for the joys of old till the drums shall cease to beat.

We shall laugh once more as we used to do, and dance in the old-time way, For this is the pledge they have made to us who serve in the war to-day; And the joys of home that we treasure so are the joys that their lives defend, And they shall give us our Christmas time as soon as the war shall end.

Prophecy

We shall thank our G.o.d for graces That we've never known before; We shall look on manlier faces When our troubled days are o'er.

We shall rise a better nation From the battle's grief and grime, And shall win our soul's salvation In this bitter trial time.

And the old Flag waving o'er us In the dancing morning sun Will be daily singing for us Of a splendor new begun.

When the rifles cease to rattle And the cannon cease to roar, When is pa.s.sed the smoke of battle And the death lists are no more, With a yet undreamed of beauty As a people we shall rise, And a love of right and duty Shall be gleaming in our eyes.

As a country, tried by sorrow, With a heritage of worth, We shall stand in that to-morrow With the leaders of the earth.