Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ITALY - 1915, by GEORGE SYLVESTER VIERECK Poet's Biography First Line: Tear from thy brow the olive wreath! Last Line: Of england's strumpet, italy! Subject(s): Italy; World War I; Italians; First World War | ||||||||
TEAR from thy brow the olive wreath! Thy laughter sickens to a leer: Behold thy honor fall beneath The hammer of the auctioneer. Now Cain shall claim thee for his own And Judas keep thee company. Hell, when the blackest deeds are known, Shall hail the name of Italy. These are not Caesar's Seven Hills, Nor this the land that Dante trod; A breed of ingrates plagued with ills, To mankind traitor and to God. Vesuvius speak with molten lead, Roll on her plains thy fiery sea And, save for her immortal dead, Wipe out the name of Italy! Oh, Holy Father, held in gyves, They stray too far from out thy fold, These hucksters of their children's lives Who sold their souls for British gold! Pray for them, for Thy heart is kind, And where no mortal eye can see Perhaps God's mercy still may find She gave her brothers stone for bread; Now through her towns shall ride the Goth, And ruined valleys drenched with red Remind her of her broken troth. The Teuton thundering through the land Shall' set God's prisoned shepherd free, But thou shalt wear the scarlet band Of England's strumpet, Italy! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...D'ANNUNZIO by ERNEST HEMINGWAY 1915: THE TRENCHES by CONRAD AIKEN TO OUR PRESIDENT by KATHARINE LEE BATES THE HORSES by KATHARINE LEE BATES CHILDREN OF THE WAR by KATHARINE LEE BATES THE U-BOAT CREWS by KATHARINE LEE BATES THE RED CROSS NURSE by KATHARINE LEE BATES WAR PROFITS by KATHARINE LEE BATES THE UNCHANGEABLE by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN A BALLAD OF ST. VITUS by GEORGE SYLVESTER VIERECK |
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