by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
A pause ‑‑ the armies wait
Language: English
A pause -- the armies wait; A million flush’d, embattled conquerors wait; The world, too, waits -- then, soft as breaking night, and sure as dawn, They melt -- they disappear. Exult, indeed, O lands! victorious lands! Not there your victory, on those red, shuddering fields; But here and hence your victory. Melt, melt away, ye armies! disperse, ye blue-clad soldiers! Resolve ye back again -- give up, for good, your deadly arms; Other the arms, the fields henceforth for you, or South or North, or East or West, With saner wars -- sweet wars -- life-giving wars.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Philadelphia: David McKay, c1900.
Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), no title, appears in Leaves of Grass, in A Carol of Harvest, for 1867, no. 9 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-04-18
Line count: 13
Word count: 92