English Poetry. Henry Van Dyke. Lights Out. Генри Ван Дайк.

Henry Van Dyke (Генри Ван Дайк)

Lights Out

”Lights out” along the land,
”Lights out” upon the sea.
The night must put her hiding hand
O’er peaceful towns where children sleep,
And peaceful ships that darkly creep
Across the waves, as if they were not free. 

The dragons of the air,
The hell-hounds of the deep,
Lurking and prowling everywhere,
Go forth to seek their helpless prey,
Not knowing whom they maim or slay--
Mad harvesters, who care not what they reap. 

Out with the tranquil lights,
Out with the lights that burn
For love and law and human rights!
Set back the clock a thousand years:
All they have gained now disappears,
And the dark ages suddenly return. 

Kaiser who loosed wild death,
And terror in the night--
God grant you draw no quiet breath, 
Until the madness you began
Is ended, and long-suffering man,
Set free from war lords, cries, ”Let there be Light.”

Henry Van Dyke’s other poems:

1. The Statue of Sherman by St. Gaudens
2. The Wind of Sorrow
3. Spring in the South
4. Patria
5. Nepenthe

Poems of other poets with the same name (Стихотворения других поэтов с таким же названием):

Edward Thomas (Эдвард Томас) Lights Out (“I have come to the borders of sleep”)

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