NOTHING BUT THE ALL
Young men and women, answer not the call
When politicians beat the drums of War:
Lay down your lives for nothing but the All.
Seek not the foe, but stem that bitter gall
Which rises from your hearts’ fermenting core.
Young men and women, answer not the call.
The world cannot be kept out by their walls,
Or broken into Theirs and Mine and Yours.
Lay down your lives for nothing but the All.
Think not that when you stand so brave and tall
Your sins are covered by your uniforms:
Young men and women, answer not the call.
Two guardians defend the Moral Law:
Your Conscience and your Shame stand for its norm.
Lay down your lives for nothing but the All.
Far better that one die than one should fall.
Refuse this wrong, though you should be abhorred.
Young men and women, answer not the call.
Lay down your lives for nothing but the All.
Lee Evans lives in Bath, Maine with his wife and works for the local YMCA.