Page:Fifes and Drums, Poems of America at War, Vigilantes, 1917.djvu/137

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FIFES AND DRUMS
131


"Nay, SPADES are trumps!" speaks Mother Earth,
My workers share the richest spoil:
Where would your boats and armies be
Without the fruitage of the soil?"

"Hearts are trumps!" the women sigh,
"We give our husbands and our sons,
To sail your ships across the seas,
To bear your flags and man your guns."

"Nay, SPADES are trumps!" speaks Mother Earth,
"The guns may roar on land and sea.
And swords may flash and hearts may break—
But SPADES shall have the victory!"

John Kemble.