Poems (Kennedy)/In France
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IN FRANCE
WE knew not when your ships set sail;
All silently they slipped away
Through moonless night or rift of day,
With whispering winds or toss of gale—
Their prows forever to the east.
All silently they slipped away
Through moonless night or rift of day,
With whispering winds or toss of gale—
Their prows forever to the east.
We held our peace; our hearts obeyed
That one out-given word
Of "silence" all the nation heard.
We watched each sun and dumbly prayed
For you "somewhere" in God's great world.
That one out-given word
Of "silence" all the nation heard.
We watched each sun and dumbly prayed
For you "somewhere" in God's great world.
And while we prayed, you reached your goal,
You heard the echo of a cry:
"We helped you—help us ere we die!"
And once again, no stint of dole,
France gives you lilies of her love.
You heard the echo of a cry:
"We helped you—help us ere we die!"
And once again, no stint of dole,
France gives you lilies of her love.
With her you stand and look away
To that far line
Where banners shine
Like blossomed petals of the day
Breaking the sepals of the night.
To that far line
Where banners shine
Like blossomed petals of the day
Breaking the sepals of the night.
And what you see? Not death, O men,
But Glory's face
In that lone place;
And you give back its smile, as when
Your mother calls you softly home—
O our brave sons in far-off France!
But Glory's face
In that lone place;
And you give back its smile, as when
Your mother calls you softly home—
O our brave sons in far-off France!