Classic Poem

We that look on, with God's goodwill,
Have one plain duty to fulfil:
To drive—by all fair means—afar
This hideous Juggernaut of War,
And teach the Future not to kill.

But there's a plainer duty still:
We need to meet the instant ill,
To heal the wound, to hide the scar—
We that look on!

What timelier task for brain and quill
Than aiding eyes no light can thrill,
No sight of all good things that are,
No morning sky, no evening star—
Shall we not help with all our skill,
We that look on?