Of blood and tears and pain--
O gallant bleeding rivers,
The Marne, the Meuse, the Aisne.

Says Marne: "My poplar fringes
Have felt the Prussian tread,
The blood of brave men tinges
My banks with lasting red;
Let others ask due credit,
But France has me to thank;
Von Kluck himself has said it:--
I turned the Boche's flank!"

Says Meuse: "I claim no winning,
No glory on the stage,
Save that, in the beginning
I strove to save Liege.
Alas that Frankish rivers
Should share such shame as mine--
In spite of all endeavours
I flow to join the Rhine!"

Says Aisne: "My silver shallows
Are salter than the sea,
The woe of Rheims still hallows
My endless tragedy.
Of rivers rich in story
That run through green Champagne,
In agony and glory
The chief am I, the Aisne!"

Now there are greater waters
That Frenchmen all hold dear--
The Rhone, with many daughters,
That runs so icy clear;
There's Moselle, deep and winy,
There's Loire, Garonne and Seine,
But O the valiant tiny--
The Marne, the Meuse, the Aisne!

PEASANT AND KING

What the Peasants of Europe Are Thinking

You who put faith in your banks and brigades,
Drank and ate largely, slept easy at night,
Hoarded your lyddite and polished the blades,
Let down upon us this blistering blight--
You who played grandly the easiest game,
Now can you shoulder the weight of the same?
Say, can _you_ fight?

Here is the tragedy: losing or winning
Who profits a copper? Who garners the fruit?
From bloodiest ending to futile beginning
Ours is the blood, and the sorrow to boot.
Muster your music, flutter your flags,
Ours are the hunger, the wounds, and the rags.
Say, can _you_ shoot?

Down in the muck and despair of the trenches
Comes not the moment of bitterest need;
Over the sweat and the groans and the stenches
There is a joy in the valorous deed--
But, lying wounded, what one forgets
You and your ribbons and d----d epaulettes--
Say, do _you_ bleed?

This is _your_ game: it was none of our choosing--
We are the pawns with whom you have played.
Yours is the winning and ours is the losing,
But, when the penalties have to be paid,