Versos English Geoffrey Bache Smith O long the fiends of war shall dance

English poem

O long the fiends of war shall dance

by (1894–1916)

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O long the fiends of war shall dance Upon the stricken fields of France: And long and long their grisly cry Shall echo up and smite the sky: O long and long the tears of God Shall fall upon a barren sod, Save when, of His great clemency, He gives men's hearts in custody Of grim old kindly Death, who knows The mould is better than the rose.