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Edgar Albert Guest

Edgar Albert Guest

To a Kindly Critic

If it’s wrong to believe in the land that we love
And to pray for Our Flag to the good God above;
If it’s wrong to believe that Our Country is best;
That honor’s her standard, and truth is her crest;
If placing her first in our prayers and our song
Is false to true reason, we’re glad to be wrong.
 
If it’s wrong to wish victory day after day
For the troops of Our Country now marching away;
If it’s wrong to believe they are moved by the right
And not by the love and the lure of the fight;
If to cheer them to battle and bid them be strong
Is false to right thinking, then let us be wrong.
 
If it’s wrong to believe in America’s dreams
Of a freedom on earth that’s as real as it seems;
If it’s error to cherish the hope, through and through,
That the Stars in Old Glory’s immaculate blue
Shall shine through the ages, true beacons to men,
We pray that no right phrase shall flow from our pen.

#EnglishWriters #XXCentury #1918 #OverHere

Other works by Edgar Albert Guest...
Bud Discusses Cleanliness

First thing in the morning, last… Get it when I come from school: '… Go upstairs this minute, an’ roll… An’ give your hands a scrubbing an… Now don’t stand there and argue, a…
Forgotten Boyhood

He wears a long and solemn face And drives the children from his p… He doesn’t like to hear them shout Or race and run and romp about, And if they chance to climb his tr…
Exempt

They have said you needn’t go to t… They have left you with your women… They have spared you from the cras… And the horrors and the madness an… But it’s your fight, just the same…
The Lilacs

I ALWAYS think of mother, when The lilac tree’s in bloom, It seems her soul comes back again Upon its sweet perfume. And every opal spire that sways
The Brethren

The world is needing you and me, In places where we ought to be; Somewhere today it’s needing you To stand for what you know is true… And needing me somewhere today.
Good Books

Good books are friendly things to… If you are busy they will wait. They will not call you on the phon… Or wake you if the hour is late. They stand together row by row,
Service

I have no wealth of gold to give a… But I can pledge to worthy causes… I’ll give my strength, my days and… My finest thought and courage when… And take some deed accomplished fo…
Looking Back

I might have been rich if I’d wan… I’ve made. I might have had fame if I’d soug… purposely played. Now I’m standing to-day on the fa…
Equipment

Figure it out for yourself, my lad… You’ve all that the greatest of me… Two arms, two hands, two legs, two… And a brain to use if you would be… With this equipment they all began…
Kelly Ingram

His name was Kelly Ingram; he was… And he whistled ‘Yankee Doodle,’… There was laughter in his make-up,… And he knew the best traditions an… Now there’s not a heart among us b…
He Has Not Lived in Vain

HE has not lived in vain If men can say When he has passed away: “He labored not for gain.’ If one can truly say:
Young Mother Gazing at Her Child, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Mother and the Baby

Mother and the baby! Oh, I know n… For all the dreams of all the worl… And be the baby in his cot or nest… The picture they present is one wi… Mother and the baby—and the mother…
The Frosting Dish

When I was just a little lad Not more than eight or nine, One special treat to make me glad Was set apart as ‘mine.’ On baking days she granted me
Where Children Play

On every street there’s a certain… Where the children gather to romp… There’s a certain house where they… To play their games and to sing th… And they trample the lawn with the…
You and Your Body

WHOM is your boy going to for ad… Tough Johnny Jones at the end of… Rough Billy Green or untaught Ji… Who is now guiding his innocent fe… Who takes him walking or swimming…



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