Patience--but peace of heart we cannot choose;
Nor would he wish us cravenly to keep
Aloof in soul, who--large in statesmanship
And justice--sent our ships to Vera Cruz.
Patience must wring our hearts, while we refuse
To launch our country on that crimson deep
Which breaks the dikes of Europe, but we sleep
Watchful, still waiting by the awful fuse.
Wisdom he counsels, and he counsels well
Whose patient fortitude against the fret
And sneer of time has stood inviolable
We love his goodness and will not forget.
With him we pause beside the mouth of hell:--
The wolf of Europe has not triumphed yet.
V