by William Henry Davies (1871 - 1940)
Armed for war
Language: English
Is life on Earth a Viler thing Than ever was known before? Who shall we ask-the wise old man Whose years have reached five score? When we have questioned church and state, Is there anyone else to ask? Is it the baby, three weeks old, That wears a gas-proof mask? Is it the infant armed to meet A poisoned earth and sky -- A thing too weak to lift its hand To rub a sleepy eye?
Text Authorship:
- by William Henry Davies (1871 - 1940), "Armed for war", appears in The Loneliest Mountain and Other Poems, first published 1939 [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):
- by Richard Roderick-Jones (b. 1947), "Armed for war", 1966 [soprano or tenor and piano], from The weeping child [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-11-11
Line count: 12
Word count: 75