English Poetry. Vachel Lindsay. To Buddha. Вэчел Линдсей.

Vachel Lindsay (Вэчел Линдсей)

To Buddha

Awake again in Asia, Lord of Peace,
Awake and preach, for her far swordsmen rise.
And would they sheathe the sword before you, friend,
Or scorn your way, while looking in your eyes?

Good comrade and philosopher and prince,
Thoughtful and thoroughbred and strong and kind,
Dare they to move against your pride benign, 
Lord of the Law, high chieftain of the mind? 

But what can Europe say, when in your name
The throats are cut, the lotus-ponds turn red?
And what can Europe say, when with a laugh 
Old Asia heaps her hecatombs of dead?

Vachel Lindsay’s other poems:

1. I Heard Immanuel Singing
2. When Gassy Thompson Struck It Rich
3. Where Is David, the Next King of Israel?
4. With a Bouquet of Twelve Roses
5. To Mary Pickford

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