In Sun and Shade: A Book of Verse

by Frederick George Scott

 

TO ENGLAND

 
O MIGHTY soul of England, rise in splendour
    Out of the wrack and turmoil of the night,
And as of old, compassionate and tender,
    Uphold the cause of justice and of right.

Thine was the consecration and devotion,
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    The world-wide vision and the world-wide trust,
Which made a pathway of the tides of ocean
    And fruitful gardens of the desert dust.

Thine was the call to face with dauntless bearing
    All high adventure, all adversity,
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Until thy sons by their resistless daring
    Had girdled earth with realms from sea to sea.

Now in this age when out of cruel oppression
    The hearts of men are yearning for release,
O Soul of England—England’s great possession—
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    Lead thou mankind into the way of peace.

May, 1926