Poems (Barker)/Shall we be Afraid

by Alice J. Green Barker

Shall We Be Afraid.

Shall we be afraid? Brothers shall we tarry?
 When the call of duty bids us fight the wrong;
Shall we be afraid to enter the dark waters,
 And battle with the current, however rough or strong?

How the black waves dash against the shore so rocky,
 How the night winds wail like mournings for the dead!
And the pale night shows us many struggling victims,
 While the angry waters break above their heads.

On the very brink of this most fateful river,
 Stands the blinded victims of the siren, wine:
Lo! she leads them on, heeding not our voices,
 And they follow after, at her slightest sign.

Hark! their mad'ning shriek, quickly now she stifles;
 Must we stand alone, on the very strand,
And not lend our lives to the work of bringing
 Some poor, wretched wanderer quickly back to land.

Shall we be afraid? Brothers, sisters, hear me!
 Nearer to the stream, even to the brink,
Kneeling humbly down, reach your hand toward them,
 Save some struggling soul, whose greatest curse is drink.

See the hand upraised, take it quickly, brother;
 Do not be afraid your spotless robe to soil,
Every spot shall glisten with a wonderous beauty,
 'Tis the pearl the diver receiveth for his toil.

Look at that young soul, even now a vision
 Of his mother's face would quickly draw him back;
Brothers, sisters, listen! You can surely save him,
 See his feet are moving on the downward track!

Quick! before the siren weaves her cords about him!
 Quick! before she plunges that youthful soul in crime;
Win him to you gently, break the spell of evil;
 You can cure his spirit with the "healer, time."

Shall we be afraid? Brothers, shall we tarry
 When the call of duty bids us fight the wrong!
Shall we be afraid to enter the dark waters,
 And battle with the current, however rough or strong.