I saw the wreck a little after it happened: A car lay up-side-down beside the pavement; The crowd stood by and gaped upon a drop Of blood—the sickening symbol of a death, A limp, white body quickly lifted, thrust Into an ambulance and hurried graveward. It came to me, then, with a sudden pang, That what is so appalling as this wreck, In war is but the usual run of things: There is no brooding on one drop of blood When the red streams flow darkly from the veins Of millions sprawling, ghastly, still forever. O you who hold the wheels that guide the nations, Drive carefully—for perilous is the highway! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...EMPEDOCLES ON ETNA; A DRAMATIC POEM by MATTHEW ARNOLD BROWNING AT ASOLO by ROBERT UNDERWOOD JOHNSON THE SONG OF HIAWATHA: THE FOUR WINDS by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW A SONG OF PANAMA by ALFRED DAMON RUNYON A SONG OF RICHES by KATHARINE LEE BATES |