Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.
The Red CoffinsJohn Curtis Underwood
From “War Times”
A
They made a great common grave in a vaster parade ground outside the city.
And they brought the red coffins of those who fell fighting for freedom
To honor and bury them.
They piled them tier by tier while the crowd in silence watched them.
And as the pile rose and spread, to many it seemed
Like the red blood of Russia welling from a mortal wound.
And some saw red fagots of freedom rising and kindling a fire that would warm all the world.
But no man there could tell the truth of it.