68
TO CARMEN SYLVA
When all Roumania's chains were riven.
When unto all his sons was given
The hero's glorious reward,
Reaped hy the sword,—
Wherefore was this x>oor thrall, whose chains
Hung heaviest, within whose veins
The oldest hlood of freedom streamed.
Still unredeemed?
O Mother, Poet, Queen in one!
Pity and save — he is thy son.
For poet David's sake, the king
Of all who sing;
For thine own people's sake who share
His law, his truth, his praise, his prayer;
For his sake who was sacrificed—
His brother—Christ!
