and,
"Come here when I am far away,
Fond lovers of this lovely land,
And sit quite still and do not say,
'Turn right or left and lend a hand,'
But sit beneath my kindly trees
And gaze far out yon sea of seas.
These trees, these very stones could tell
How much I loved them and how well,
And maybe I shall come and sit
Beside you; sit so silently
You will not reck of it."
[Illustration: ALAN SEEGER]
IV
ALAN SEEGER
[Footnote: The poetical selections appearing in this chapter are used
by permission, and are taken from poems by Alan Seeger. Published by
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. ]
POET OF YOUTH, BEAUTY, FAME, JOY, LOVE, DEATH, AND GOD
Rupert Brooke and Alan Seeger--so shall their names be linked together
forever by those who love poetry. In the first place, they were much
alike: buoyant, young; loving life, living life; and both dying for the
great cause of humanity in the world's greatest war. Brooke the
Englishman; Seeger the American; so are they linked. Both were but lads
in their twenties; both vivid as lightning and as warm as summer
sunshine in their personalities; both truly great poets, who had, even
in the short time they lived, run a wide gamut of poetic expression.
I am not saying that either Brooke or Seeger may be called a Christian
poet; nor am I saying that they may not be called that. This war in
which they have given their lives will make a vast difference in the
definition of what a Christian is.
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