Poem by Margaret Junkin Preston

Acceptation

We do accept thee, heavenly Peace!
   Albeit thou comest in a guise
   Unlooked for—undesired, our eyes
Welcome through tears the sweet release
From war, and woe, and want,—surcease,
For which we bless thee, blessed Peace!

We lift our foreheads from the dust;
   And as we meet thy brow's clear calm,
   There falls a freshening sense of balm
Upon our spirits. Fear—distrust—
The hopeless present on us thrust—
We'll meet them as we can, and must.

War has not wholly wrecked us; still
   Strong hands, brave hearts, high souls are ours—
   Proud consciousness of quenchless powers—
A Past whose memory makes us thrill—
Futures uncharactered, to fill
With heroisms—if we will.

Then courage, brothers!—Though each breast
   Feel oft the rankling thorn, despair,
   That failure plants so sharply there—
No pain, no pang shall be confest:
We'll work and watch the brightening west,
And leave to God and Heaven, the rest.

1. The Bivouac in the Snow
2. The Reapers of Lindisfarne
3. Only a Private
4. Calling the Angels in
5. The Shade of the Trees

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