Classic Poem

War! Shall you be our lover?
War! Shall you be our mate?
Speak and answer us, Robber!
How shall you compensate?
You who came like a thief in the night
And snatched your men for the brutal fight,
Nor reckoned with the maidens,
The white-faced maidens,
The star-eyed maidens standing in a row —
(My lover, O, my lover! God calls and you must go)
How shall you answer the heart's call
And the soul's call
And the blood's call
For him who was all in all?
You who have killed our lovers, and let the love remain,
How shall you kill the pain?
Who is the Fiend from whom you came?...
Can you name his name
Who gave you the right
Masked with glory and armed with might
To steal away our brave men, our dear men, our young men
With all their lives untold ...
(O, kiss me, kiss me, lover! But alas, his lips are cold.)
Do you know when you slaughter a million men
You slaughter more than a million dreams never to bloom again? ...
And break the hearts of maidens,
White-armed maidens,
Sad-faced maidens standing in a row.
(O, empty moonlit places where lovers used to go!)
We with our womanhood denied,
Never to bear the name of bride
Challenge and face you, Robber!
How can your kingdom stand?
You who have dared to countermand
Edicts of Love, and cannot see
You rob, not us, but the race to be.
You who stole our dear men, our brave men, our sweet men,
With all their powers furled
(Those who should have lived, not have died, for the world)
Do you know that with every million men you killed
You scoffed at the rights of maidens, unfulfilled? ...
Right of the ewe to the lamb, right of the tree
To flower and fruit, right of the rose to the bee.
Right of woman to mate with man,
Right of God to his plan.
(O, shattered dream of a tender nest
And a babe at the breast!)
War! Shall you be our lover?
War! Shall you be our mate?
We who must go love-starved for life,
Never to know the name of wife,
Challenge and face you, Robber!
How shall you compensate?
You who came like a thief in the night
And stole your men for the brutal fight
Must answer to the maidens,
The million weeping maidens,
The stark-eyed maidens
Standing in a row.
(My lover, O, my lover! Why did I let you go!)