Ballads of Peace in War

<h2> A BALLAD OF FRANCE </h2> <p>Ye who heed a nation's call<br/> And speed to arms therefor,<br/> Ye who fear your children's march<br/> To perils of the war,&mdash;<br/> Soldiers of the deck and camp<br/> And mothers of our men,<br/> Hearken to a tale of France<br/> And tell it oft again.<br/> <br/> * * *<br/> <br/> In the east of France by the roads of war,<br/> (God save us evermore from Mars and Thor!)<br/> Up and down the fair land iron armies came,<br/> (Pity, Jesu, all who fell, calling Thy name).<br/> <br/> Pleasant all the fields were round every town,<br/> Garden airs went sweetly up, heaven smiled down;<br/> Till under leaden hail with flaming breath,<br/> Graves and ashen harvest were the keep of death.<br/> <br/> One little town stood, white on a hill,<br/> Chapel and hostel gates, farms and windmill,<br/> Chapel and countryside met the gunner's path,<br/> Till no blade of kindly grass hid from his wrath.<br/> <br/> Lo! When the terrain cleared out of murky air,<br/> When mid the ruins stalked death and despair,<br/> One figure stood erect, bright with day,&mdash;<br/> Christ the Crucified, though His Cross was shot away.<br/> <br/> Flame and shot tore away all the tender wood,<br/> Yet with arms uplifted Christ His Figure stood;<br/> Out reached the blessing hands, meek bowed the head,<br/> Christ! The saving solace o'er the waste of dead.<br/> <br/> France tells the story, make our hearts know well,<br/> Christ His Figure stands against the gates of hell:<br/> Flame and shot may rive the fortress walls apart,<br/> Christ the Crucified will heal the breaking heart.<br/> <br/> Wear Him day and night, wherever be the war,<br/> (God save us evermore from Mars and Thor!)<br/> Flag and heart that keep Him fear not shot and flame,<br/> (Strengthen, Jesu, all who stand, calling Thy name).<br/> <br/> * * *<br/> <br/> Ye who guard a nation's call<br/> And speed to arms therefor,<br/> Ye who pray for brave lads gone<br/> To perils of the war;<br/> Soldiers of the fleet and fort<br/> And mothers of our men,<br/> In the shadow of the Cross<br/> Shall we find peace again.<br/></p> <p><SPAN name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"></SPAN></p> <br/> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />