THE NEW BANNER
O fellow-citizens of storm-tossed lands,
War weary! Sounds the bugle-note! Arise!
New steadfast standards wait your eager hands,
The Star of Promise orbs to meet your eyes.
Great kings must pass, that mankind may be free,
Beneath the banner of democracy!
The Mighty Ruler of this mortal life
Has wisdom, not by mortals understood;
The seeds of blood, the deeds of wanton strife
Shall some day harvest unexpected good.
Great kings shall pass and every nation be
Ruled by the people—for the people, free.
When the mad anguish of this stricken world—
Where valiant heroes daily fight and fall—
Has passed and Freedom's banners are unfurled,
Then shall we know the reason for it all!
Then every waiting, heart-sick land shall see
The ultimate design of Destiny!
