Poems (Kennedy)/The Star Over The Trench
THE STAR OVER THE TRENCH
WAR and ruin and lust of blood, And the world gone mad, gone mad;And the cry of hate and the call to kill, And only the death fiends glad!
Volley of shells and toss of flame And a roar like snarl of hell,And out of the pit of the sulphur fumes The rasp of a dying yell.
War and ruin and lust of blood And heaven so far, so far.Then—out of the ruck of the rolling-smoke Rises the Christmas Star.
Over the trenches running red Its tender radiance streams,And the hearts of men are turned from strife To the old familiar dreams.
And they know that out of this horror of hate There must one day come release,And a whisper of hope is on the wind And the Star is the herald of Peace.
War and ruin and lust of blood And heaven so far, so far—But a steadfast faith that God is God Shines in the risen Star!