THE NEW MARS, a poem

I WAR against the folly that is War,
     The sacrifice that pity hath not stayed,
The Great Delusion men have perished for,
     The lie that hath the souls of men betrayed:
I war for justice and for human right,
Against the lawless tyranny of Might.

A monstrous cult has held the world too long:
     The worship of a Moloch that hath slain
Remorselessly the young, the brave, the strong,—
     Indifferent to the unmeasured pain,
The accumulated horror and despair,
That stricken Earth no longer wills to bear.

My goal is peace,—not peace at any price,
     While yet ensanguined jaws of Evil yawn
Hungry and pitiless: Nay, peace were vice
     Until the cruel dragon-teeth be drawn,
And the wronged victims of Oppression be
Delivered from its hateful rule, and free!

When comes that hour, resentment laid aside,
     Into a ploughshare will I beat my sword;
The weaker Nations' strength shall be my pride,
     Their gladness my exceeding great reward;
And not in vain shall be the tears now shed,
Nor vain the service of the gallant dead.

            *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

I war against the folly which is War,
     The futile sacrifice that naught hath stayed,
The Great Delusion men have perished for,
     The lie that hath the souls of men betrayed;
For faith I war, humanity, and trust;
For peace on earth—a lasting peace, and just!

"The New Mars" by Florence Earle Coates. Published in The Athenaeum (May? 1915) and in Poems (1916) Volume II.

Graphic study of Mars, by Anton Raphael Mengs ca. 1775
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