|
|
 |
by Jessie Wallace Hughan
UNCLE SAMUEL (1916)
With apologies to Lewis Carroll
"You are bold, Uncle Samuel," the young man said,
"And nobody threatens to shoot you,
Yet you walk down the street in a bullet-proof hat.
I ask, in this age, does it suit you?"
"In my youth," said his father, "I wore without fear
A peaceful provincial old tile,
But the Germans are setting the fashions this year,
And this helmet's the Kaiser's own style."
"You are bold," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,
And your neighbors are harmless and few.
But you're building a fence with a burglar-proof door;
Don't you think it may shut off the view?"
"In my youth," said the sage, "I was reckless in folly,
But now I live back of a wall;
The fences in Europe have kept things so jolly,
I needn't be worried at all."
"You are bold," said his son, "and I always have felt
that your temper was truly delectable,
Yet a dozen revolvers protrude from your belt,
do you think it looks really respectable?"
"In my youth," he replied, "the commandments were rife,
But the sixth one has worn very thin;
The brave men thinks nothing of laying down life—
Of another—to save his own skin."
"You are bold," cried the youth, "and I've always agreed
You were one of the venturesome sort,
But you won't take a chance till the risk's guaranteed,
Do you think you are really a sport?"
"I have answered three questions: this isn't a school,"
Said his uncle. "Go back to the farm.
It's only a coward or Pacifist fool
Who dares be the first to disarm."
THE GUNSMITH AND THE ARMOR TRUST
More apologies to Lewis Carroll
The gunsmith and the armor trust
Were walking on the shore;
They wept like anything to see
The nations all at war—
"But if they keep it up," they said,
"Our stocks will surely soar."
"O workers, will you shoot with us?"
The gunsmith did beseech.
"A gentlemanly exercise
It pays us well to teach;
And since we love neutrality
We'll give a gun to each."
A million men from East and West
Came running with a bound
"We must defend our land," they said,
"So many thieves are round";
And this was odd, for none of them
Possessed a foot of ground.
"A pretext old," the gunsmith told,
"But pretty sure to suit,
A flag insulted may afford
Our new commercial route,—
So if you're ready, workers dear,
Let us begin to shoot."
"But not at them," the East declared,
Turning a little blue,
"After such friendship that would be
A dismal thing to do."
"Now be prepared," the gunsmith said,
"Before they fire on you."
"And wait a bit," the West replied,
"Before we shoot our brothers,
For some of them have wives at home,
And all of them have mothers."
"Now hustle," said the armor trust:
"They're awful brutes, those others."
"I weep for you," the gunsmith said,
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Shells of the largest size;
With a Red Cross subscription list
He wiped his streaming eyes.
"Now, workers," said the armor trust,
"You've nobly fought and bled;
Shall we go home to celebrate?"
But not a word was said,—
And this was hardly odd, because
They all of them were dead.
THE CHALLENGE OF MARS
We have hearkened thy bugle call
In the shrieking shell,
And we fling back the challenge all
To the gates of Hell,—
Not in the far-off years,
Now, while the whole world fears,
While the earth shakes under thy spears,
We defy thee, O Mars!
By the curse of a nation's guilt
For their ruler's gain,
by the pomp of an empire built
On the people's pain,
By the brother's blood men spill
At their master's word and will, -
We will not go forth to kill.
We defy thee, O Mars!
By the lonely victory fought
On Calvary's cross,
By the glory of Rome as naught
And her treasure dross,
By the freedom of man revealed,
By the faith of the martyrs sealed,
We may die, but we will not yield.
We defy thee, O Mars!
Thine is the lightening flame
And the power of the past.
Ours be the stainless name
And the Cause that shall last.
There is death in thy bolts arrayed,
But we challenge thee undismayed,
Unarmored and unafraid—
We defy thee, O Mars!
All poems copyright 1932 by Jessie Wallace Hughan. First appeared in The Challenge of Mars and Other Poems (1932). Reprinted with permission.
About Jessie Wallace Hughan
After the beginning of World War I, Hughan with three other women founded the "Anti-Enlistment League", whose object was to oppose military service. Although she was warned in 1917 that her antiwar feelings might result in her dismissal from the school system, she persisted in her pacifist activities and formed, in 1922, a "Committee for Enrollment Against War". In 1923, Hughan founded the War Resisters League, which she ran for many years out of a desk in her living room and which is still today one of the most influential pacifist organizations in the United States. She is one of thirty women from around the world quoted on the Pacifist Memorial in Washington, DC. Read more about Ms. Hughan at: http://www.awomanaweek.com/hughan.html.
|
 |
|
|
