| George Herbert Clarke, ed. (1873–1953). A Treasury of War Poetry. 1917. |
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| 29. To Belgium in Exile |
| | | By Owen Seaman |
| | | | | [Lines dedicated to one of her priests, by whose words they were prompted.] |
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| LAND of the desolate, Mother of tears, | |
| Weeping your beauty marred and torn, | |
| Your children tossed upon the spears, | |
| Your altars rent, your hearths forlorn, | |
| Where Spring has no renewing spell, | 5 |
| And Love no language save a long Farewell! | |
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| Ah, precious tears, and each a pearl, | |
| Whose price—for so in God we trust | |
| Who saw them fall in that blind swirl | |
| Of ravening flame and reeking dust— | 10 |
| The spoiler with his life shall pay, | |
| When Justice at the last demands her Day. | |
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| O tried and proved, whose record stands | |
| Lettered in blood too deep to fade, | |
| Take courage! Never in our hands | 15 |
| Shall the avenging sword be stayed | |
| Till you are healed of all your pain, | |
And come with Honour to your own again.
May 19, 1915 | |
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