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Home  »  The Standard Book of Jewish Verse  »  Awakening

Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917.

By Jessie E. Sampter

Awakening

WHERE wait the soldiers of the Lord

That smote in olden days?

Where stands in song his shining horde

That chant and shout his praise?

They long are laid with flame and sword,

Their corpses strew the ways.

A hundred gods of brass and gold

Sit high with icy hands,

And those that praised his name of old

Lie slain in many lands!

Their bones arise and join: Behold,

The host of Israel stands!

Does Israel’s heart such silence keep,

It seems a stony crust,

And covered with the dust?

No, ’tis a dragon fast asleep,

An ancient sword to flash and leap

From scabbard’s rust!