William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. (1878–1962). Anthology of Magazine Verse for 1920.
Rebels
S
March with their trees, dependable and stanch,
Except where here and there a lawless maple
Thrusts to the sky one red, rebellious branch.
With that defiant and arresting plume;
Scattered, they toss this flame like some wild signal,
Calling their comrades to a brilliant doom.
This proclamation of an early death?
Are they so tired of earth they fly the banner
Of dissolution and a bleeding faith?
An anxious welcome to a vivid strife?
A glow, a heart-beat, and a bright acceptance
Of all the rich exuberance of life.
A sudden torch, a burning battle-cry.
“Light up the world,” they wave to all the others;
“Swiftly we live and splendidly we die.”