Do not cheer, for men are dying <br />From their distant homes in pain; <br />And the restless sea is darkened <br />By a flood of crimson rain. <br /> <br />Do not cheer, for anxious mothers <br />Wait and watch in lonely dread; <br />Vainly waiting for the footsteps <br />Never more their paths to tread. <br /> <br />Do not cheer, while little children <br />Gather round the widowed wife, <br />Wondering why an unknown people <br />Sought their own dear father's life. <br /> <br />Do not cheer, for aged fathers <br />Bend above their staves and weep, <br />While the ocean sings the requiem <br />Where their fallen children sleep. <br /> <br />Do not cheer, for lips are paling <br />On which lay the mother's kiss; <br />'Mid the dreadful roar of battle <br />How that mother's hand they miss! <br /> <br />Do not cheer: once joyous maidens, <br />Who the mazy dance did tread, <br />Bow their heads in bitter anguish, <br />Mourning o'er their cherished dead. <br /> <br />Do not cheer while maid and matron <br />In this strife must bear a part; <br />While the blow that strikes a soldier <br />Reaches to some woman's heart. <br /> <br />Do not cheer till arbitration <br />O'er the nations holds its sway, <br />And the century now closing <br />Ushers in a brighter day. <br /> <br />Do not cheer until the nation <br />Shall more wise and thoughtful grow <br />Than to staunch a stream of sorrow <br />By an avalanche of woe. <br /> <br />Do not cheer until each nation <br />Sheathes the sword and blunts the spear, <br />And we sing aloud for gladness: <br />Lo, the reign of Christ is here, <br /> <br />And the banners of destruction <br />From the battlefield are furled, <br />And the peace of God descending <br />Rests upon a restless world.<br /><br />Frances Ellen Watkins Harper<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/do-not-cheer-men-are-dying-said-capt-phillips/
