Page:Backblock Ballads and Later Verses (C.J. Dennis, 1918).djvu/137

 
Have you seen the old grey mothers
    Smiling to the ringing cheers?
Have you seen the young wives striving
    Bravely to hold back the tears?
Have you seen the young girl marching
    By her soldier-lover's side?
Have you seen our country's women
All aglow with pride?

Women of the little homesteads,
    Women of the city slums,
They are waiting, ever waiting;
    And the sound of muffled drums
In some stricken Home is echoed,
    Where grey Grief is guest to-day.
And to-morrow? Nay, the others
Still must wait—and pray.

Then, shall we think shame, my brothers,
    To give thanks upon our knees
That the land we love should hold them—
    Wives and mothers such as these?
Women who still hide their sorrow
    As their soldiers march away,
Turning brave and steadfast faces
To the light of day?