  Avert Thy gaze, O God, close tight Thine eyes! Glance down no longer on the ocean foam, Lest Thou behold such horrors as can turn Men’s burning hearts to ice, and chill their souls. Keep Thine heart warm and full of charity That Thou mayst yet be able to forgive, And pity feel for those who know not when To pause in deeds of ruthless sacrifice. Restrain Thy wrath, and keep Thine hand in check; Smite not, nor fiercely thrust without the pale Those who can dare to strew the ocean waste With fellow creatures, innocent of wrong. Forget the studied purpose to destroy; The launching of the missile through the deep; The shattered hull; the crushed and bleeding forms; The seething swirl of wreckage, women, men. Remember that they know not what they do Who strike in deadly fear and ghastly hate; Remember that somehow, and at some time, Each crime exacts its human penalty. Remember that man’s conscience and man’s mind Are agents of Thy purpose and Thy plan, Which work within a deadlier revenge Than any shrapnel shot or sabre thrust. Remember that new generations come Upon whom fall the burden and the curse, The anguish of old hatreds and past wrongs, The crushing debt, the struggle and despair. Restrain, O God, the sweep of this vast hate; Recall the nations to their sense of shame: To those in blinding war, to us at peace, Reveal anew the message of the Christ. William Lloyd Garrison, Jr. (Reprinted by permission of the author and of the Boston Transcript) THE LUSITANIA’S LAST VOYAGE |
|
