ALAS, alas for those blond boys who stalk <br />Their prey in ambush of the shuddering seas, <br />Whiling the wait with merry, tender talk <br />Of some dear knot of flower-clad cottages <br />Beyond the Rhine! The merchantship draws on; <br />Their swift torpedo strikes its mark; the sea <br />Moans with the dying; for a victory won <br />They thank the pagan god of Germany. <br />Happier to die the hideous, smothering death, <br />Too deep for mercy, in their own snared trap, <br />Than live to learn how time interpreteth <br />The cause they served; the tragical mishap <br />Of pride that pledged The Day and brought The Night; <br />—Than live to loathe their Fatherland, a name <br />So high, so fallen, that betrayed their bright <br />Young loyalty to savageries of shame.<br /><br />Katharine Lee Bates<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-u-boat-crew/
