The Poetry Corner

Disarmament

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

We have outgrown the helmet and cuirass, The spear, the arrow, and the javelin. These crude inventions of a cruder age, When men killed men to show their love of God, And he who slaughtered most was greatest king. We have outgrown the need of war! Should men Unite in this one thought, all war would end. Disarm the world; and let all Nations meet Like Men, not monsters, when disputes arise. When crossed opinions tangle into snarls, Let Courts untie them, and not armies cut. When State discussions breed dissensions, let Union and Arbitration supersede The hell-created implements of War. Disarm the world! and bid destructive thought Slip like a serpent from the mortal mind Down through the marshes of oblivion.Soon A race of gods shall rise!Disarm!Disarm!