Poem: “The Peaceful Warriors” by Edgar A. Guest

A Heap o’ Livin’

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American Literature – American Poetry – Edgar A. Guest – Poems by Edgar A. Guest – A Heap o’ Livin’
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The Peaceful Warriors

  Let others sing their songs of war
    And chant their hymns of splendid death,
  Let others praise the soldiers’ ways
    And hail the cannon’s flaming breath.
  Let others sing of Glory’s fields
    Where blood for Victory is paid,
  I choose to sing some simple thing
    To those who wield not gun or blade—
    The peaceful warriors of trade.

  Let others choose the deeds of war
    For symbols of our nation’s skill,
  The blood-red coat, the rattling throat,
    The regiment that charged the hill,
  The boy who died to serve the flag,
    Who heard the order and obeyed,
  But leave to me the gallantry
    Of those who labor unafraid—
    The peaceful warriors of trade.

  Aye, let me sing the splendid deeds
    Of those who toil to serve mankind,
  The men who break old ways and make
    New paths for those who come behind.
    And face their problems, unafraid,
  Who think and plan to lift for man
    The burden that on him is laid—
    The splendid warriors of trade.

  I sing of battles with disease
    And victories o’er death and pain,
  Of ships that fly the summer sky,
    And glorious deeds of strength and brain.
  The call for help that rings through space
    By which a vessel’s course is stayed,
  Thrills me far more than fields of gore,
    Or heroes decked in golden braid—
    I sing the warriors of trade.

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Failures > > >

American Literature – American Poetry – Edgar A. Guest – Poems by Edgar A. Guest – A Heap o’ Livin’

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A Heap o’ Livin’

The Peaceful Warriors

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