Part 39 (1/2)

Ring up, ye silvery octaves high, Whose notes like circling swallows fly; And ring, each old sonorous bell,-- ”Jesu,” ”Maria,” ”Michael!”

Weave in and out, and high and low, The magic music that you know, And let it float and flutter down To cheer the heart of the troubled town.

Ring out, ”Salvator,” lord of all,-- ”Roland” in Ghent may hear thee call!

O brave bell-music of Malines, In this dark hour how much you mean!

The dreadful night of blood and tears Sweeps down on Belgium, but she hears Deep in her heart the melody Of songs she learned when she was free.

She will not falter, faint, nor fail, But fight until her rights prevail And all her ancient belfries ring ”The Flemish Lion,” ”G.o.d Save the King!”

JEANNE D'ARC RETURNS [2]

1914-1916

What hast thou done, O womanhood of France, Mother and daughter, sister, sweetheart, wife, What hast thou done, amid this fateful strife, To prove the pride of thine inheritance In this fair land of freedom and romance?

I hear thy voice with tears and courage rife,-- Smiling against the swords that seek thy life,-- Make answer in a n.o.ble utterance: ”I give France all I have, and all she asks.

Would it were more! Ah, let her ask and take: My hands to nurse her wounded, do her tasks,-- My feet to run her errands through the dark,-- My heart to bleed in triumph for her sake,-- And all my soul to follow thee, Jeanne d'Arc!”

April 16, 1916.

[2] This sonnet belongs with the poem on page 309, ”Come Back Again, Jeanne D'Arc.”

THE NAME OF FRANCE

Give us a name to fill the mind With the s.h.i.+ning thoughts that lead mankind, The glory of learning, the joy of art,-- A name that tells of a splendid part In the long, long toil and the strenuous fight Of the human race to win its way From the feudal darkness into the day Of Freedom, Brotherhood, Equal Right,-- A name like a star, a name of light.

I give you _France_!

Give us a name to stir the blood With a warmer glow and a swifter flood, At the touch of a courage that conquers fear,-- A name like the sound of a trumpet, clear, And silver-sweet, and iron-strong, That calls three million men to their feet, Ready to march, and steady to meet The foes who threaten that name with wrong,-- A name that rings like a battle-song.

I give you _France_!

Give us a name to move the heart With the strength that n.o.ble griefs impart, A name that speaks of the blood outpoured To save mankind from the sway of the sword,-- A name that calls on the world to share In the burden of sacrificial strife When the cause at stake is the world's free life And the rule of the people everywhere,-- A name like a vow, a name like a prayer.

I give you _France_!

The Hague, September, 1916.

AMERICA'S PROSPERITY

They tell me thou art rich, my country: gold In glittering flood has poured into thy chest; Thy flocks and herds increase, thy barns are pressed With harvest, and thy stores can hardly hold Their merchandise; unending trains are rolled Along thy network rails of East and West; Thy factories and forges never rest; Thou art enriched in all things bought and sold!

But dost _thou_ prosper? Better news I crave.

O dearest country, is it well with thee Indeed, and is thy soul in health?