Cities and kings and nations
Hush at my outer breath,
As sightless I glide o’er the wind-lashed tide
In my race with the deep-sea death.
War and Trade and the Laws ye made
Halt at the Letters Three,
Bound on my errand of mercy--I--
The ultimate C.Q.D.
No wave may intercept me,
Though it tower a hundred feet;
No storm shall ever stay me,
Though sky and waters meet.
Piercing the howling heavens--
Skimming the churning sea--
Through blast and gale I bring the tale--
I--the pitying C.Q.D.
And when through the white-toothed combers
The helping hull looms high,
And when the small-boats leap aside
Through the glare of the red-shot sky,
Out, out across the ocean’s dawn
The final flashes flee--
“All saved!” And the circling shores ring back--
“Thank God--and the C.Q.D!”