Poems (Grossman)/Enlist To-Day

by Ethel B. Grossman

ENLIST TO-DAY

I

The call to arms is at our door,
  The U.S.A. is now at war;
And every man will do his bit
  Shoulder his gun and pack his kit———
            Go off to war!

II

Our boys go marching down the street
  In rain and sunshine, snow and sleet;
They're off to practice and prepare
  To fight in—God alone knows where,
            Fight for the flag!

III.

Whom does the flag fail to enthral?
  Who will not hear his country's call?
The slacker sure will be disgraced,
  His name and memory effaced.
            Buck up, boys, fight!

IV

Our boys, bent on accomplishment,
  Go out to meet death, quite content;
Their shout is "Freedom of the Sea———
  We fight for God and Liberty!"
            They're unafraid.

V.

The mothers sad, with shoulders bent,
  And tear-stained faces, must content
Themselves with just this single thought———
  That boys who for their country fought,
            Are blessed in heaven!

VI

Just think! We live in deeds not years,
  The fight is on both hemispheres.
Who dares our country to defy?
  For her we'll conquer, or we'll die———
            Blesséd country!

VII

Battlefields bloody, bodies diseased,
  Towns are destroyed, and cities are seized;
Houses are burned and churches are sacked,
  Old men and women and children attacked———
            Horrors of war!

VIII

And now our country's in it too;
  We'll strive together and fight it through.
Which of us fears the submarine?
  Columbia's brain is sharp and keen———
            We'll clear the seas!

IX

America will find the key———
  O'ercome the menace of the sea;
She'll build some wonderful machine,
  Then—"Good-night, German submarine."
            Good-bye, forever!

X

Amidst it all, the President
  Is calm and firm and competent———
"The rock on which the storm will beat."
  God bless him! He won't brook defeat———
            Our President!

XI

We've got to help the allies through,
  France helped when we were hard pressed, too.
It's only fair and just and right
  That we should now help her to fight———
            For Freedom!

XII

We wish the world to understand———
  We seek no wealth, we want no land;
But Justice and Democracy
  Must govern all, on land and sea———
            Poor Germany!

XIII

We do not hate her people, no!
  Her autocratic rulers, though,
Who plunged them into this abyss,
  We think they should at once dismiss———
            For their own good.

XIV

Now, buck up, boys—go and enlist.
  Show 'em your spirit—and your fist!
Let them all see you've got some grit!
  Now go ahead and do your bit———
            Enlist to-day!

May, 1917.