Chapter III

O fiercer than all wars before That raged on land or sea, The Giant Robber's world-wide war For the things that shall not be! Thy sister banners hold the line; To thee, dear flag, they call; And thou hast joined them with the sign-- The heavenly sign, the victor sign-- Of the stars that never fall.

_Chorus_

All hail to thee, New Glory!
We follow thee unfurled
To write the larger story
Of Freedom for the World.

September 4, 1918.

SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC

Who knows how many thousand years ago The twelvefold Zodiac was made to show The course of stars above and men below?

The great sun plows his furrow by its "lines": From all its "houses" mystic meaning shines: Deep lore of life is written in its "signs."

_Aries_--Sacrifice.

Snow-white and sacred is the sacrifice That Heaven demands for what our heart doth prize: The man who fears to suffer, ne'er can rise.

_Taurus_--Strength.

Rejoice, my friend, if God has made you strong: Put forth your force to move the world along: Yet never shame your strength to do a wrong.

_Gemini_--Brotherhood.

Bitter his life who lives for self alone, Poor would he be with riches and a throne: But friendship doubles all we are and own.

_Cancer_--The Wisdom of Retreat.

Learn from the crab, O runner fresh and fleet, Sideways to move, or backward, when discreet; Life is not all advance,--sometimes retreat!

_Leo_--Fire.

The sign of Leo is the sign of fire. Hatred we hate: but no man should desire A heart too cold to flame with righteous ire.

_Virgo_--Love.

Mysterious symbol, words are all in vain To tell the secret power by which you reign, The more we love, the less we can explain.

_Libra_--Justice.

Examine well the scales with which you weigh; Let justice rule your conduct every day; For when you face the Judge you'll need fair play

_Scorpio_--Self-Defense.

There's not a creature in the realm of night But has the wish to live, likewise the right: Don't tread upon the scorpion, or he'll fight.

_Sagittarius_--The Archer.

Life is an arrow, therefore you must know What mark to aim at, how to use the bow,-- Then draw it to the head and let it go!

_Capricornus_--The Goat.

The goat looks solemn, yet he likes to run, And leap the rocks, and gambol in the sun: The truly wise enjoy a little fun.

_Aquarius_--Water.

"Like water spilt upon the ground,"--alas, Our little lives flow swiftly on and pass; Yet may they bring rich harvests and green grass!

_Pisces_--The Fishes.

Last of the sacred signs, ye bring to me A word of hope, a word of mystery,-- We all are swimmers in God's mighty sea.

February 28. 1918.

BRITAIN, FRANCE, AMERICA

The rough expanse of democratic sea Which parts the lands that live by liberty Is no division; for their hearts are one. To fight together till their cause is won.

For land and water let us make our pact, And seal the solemn word with valiant act: No continent is firm, no ocean pure, Until on both the rights of man are sure.

April, 1917.

THE RED CROSS

Sign of the Love Divine
That bends to bear the load
Of all who suffer, all who bleed,
Along life's thorny road:

Sign of the Heart Humane,
That through the darkest fight
Would bring to wounded friend and foe
A ministry of light:

O dear and holy sign,
Lead onward like a star!
The armies of the just are thine,
And all we have and are.

October 20, 1918, for the Red Cross Christmas Roll Call.

EASTER ROAD

1918

Under the cloud of world-wide war, While earth is drenched with sorrow, I have no heart for idle merrymaking, Or for the fashioning of glad raiment.-- I will retrace the divine footmarks, On the Road of the first Easter

Down through the valley of utter darkness Dripping with blood and tears; Over the hill of the skull, the little hill of great anguish, The ambuscade of Death. Into the no-man's-land of Hades Bearing despatches of hope to spirits in prison, Mortally stricken and triumphant Went the faithful Captain of Salvation.

Then upward, swiftly upward,-- Victory, liberty, glory, The feet that were wounded walked in the tranquil garden, Bathed in dew and the light of deathless dawn. O my soul, my comrades, soldiers of freedom, Follow the pathway of Easter, for there is no other, Follow it through to peace, yea, follow it fighting.

This Armageddon is not darker than Calvary. The day will break when the Dragon is vanquished; He that exalteth himself as God shall be cast down, And the Lords of war shall fall, And the long, long terror be ended, Victory, justice, peace enduring! They that die in this cause shall live forever, And they that live shall never die, They shall rejoice together in the Easter of a new world.

March 31, 1918.

AMERICA'S WELCOME HOME

Oh, gallantly they fared forth in khaki and in blue, America's crusading host of warriors bold and true; They battled for the rights of man beside our brave Allies, And now they're coming home to us with glory in their eyes.

_Oh, it's home again, and home again, America for me!
Our hearts are turning home again and there we long to be,
In our beautiful big country beyond the ocean bars,
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars._

Our boys have seen the Old World as none have seen before. They know the grisly horror of the German gods of war: The noble faith of Britain and the hero-heart of France, The soul of Belgium's fortitude and Italy's romance.

They bore our country's great word across the rolling sea, "America swears brotherhood with all the just and free." They wrote that word victorious on fields of mortal strife, And many a valiant lad was proud to seal it with his life.

Oh, welcome home in Heaven's peace, dear spirits of the dead! And welcome home ye living sons America hath bred! The lords of war are beaten down, your glorious task is done; You fought to make the whole world free, and the victory is won.

_Now it's home again, and home again, our hearts are turning west,
Of all the lands beneath the sun America is best.
We're going home to our own folks, beyond the ocean bars,
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars._

November 11, 1918. A sequel to "America For Me," written in 1909.

THE SURRENDER OF THE GERMAN FLEET

Ship after ship, and every one with a high-resounding name, From the robber-nest of Heligoland the German war-fleet came; Not victory or death they sought, but a rendezvous of shame.

_Sing out, sing out,
A joyful shout,
Ye lovers of the sea!
The "Kaiser" and the "Kaiserin,"
The "König" and the "Prinz,"
The potentates of piracy,
Are coming to surrender,
And the ocean shall be free._

They never dared the final fate of battle on the blue; Their sea-wolves murdered merchantmen and mocked the drowning crew; They stained the wave with martyr-blood,--but we sent our transports through!

What flags are these that dumbly droop from the gaff o' the mainmast tall? The black of the Kaiser's iron cross, the red of the Empire's fall! Come down, come down, ye pirate flags. Yea, strike your colors all.

The Union Jack and the Tricolor and the Starry Flag o' the West Shall guard the fruit of Freedom's war and the victory confest, The flags of the brave and just and free shall rule on the ocean's breast.

_Sing out, sing out,
A mighty shout,
Ye lovers of the sea!
The "Kaiser" and the "Kaiserin,"
The "König" and the "Prinz"
The robber-lords of death and sin,
Have come to their surrender,
And the ocean shall be free!_

November 20, 1918.

GOLDEN STARS