Upton Sinclair, ed. (1878–1968). rn The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest. 1915.
The Illusion of WarLe Gallienne, Richard
Richard Le Gallienne
(American poet, born in England, 18661947)W
The sound along the marching street
Of drum and fife, and I forget
Wet eyes of widows, and forget
Broken old mothers, and the whole
Dark butchery without a soul.
Of heady music, sweet as hell;
And even my peace-abiding feet
Go marching with the marching street—
For yonder, yonder goes the fife,
And what care I for human life!
And my full heart is like to break;
And yet ’tis all embannered lies,
A dream those little drummers make.
Yon hideous grinning thing that stalks,
Hidden in music, like a queen,
That in a garden of glory walks,
Till good men love the thing they loathe.
But not an infamy like this—
Oh, snap the fife, and still the drum,
And show the monster as she is!