To A German Apologist
By BEATRICE BARRY.
You may seek and find if you will, perchance,
Excuses for your attack on France,
And perhaps 'twill not be so hard to show
Why England finds you her deadly foe;
There are reasons old and reasons new
For feelings hard 'twixt the Russ and you,
But talk as you may till the Judgment Day,
You cannot ever explain away—
Belgium.
You have used both speech and the printed word
To have your side of the story heard,
We have listened long, we have listened well
To everything that you had to tell,
We would fain be fair, but it seems as though
You can't explain what we wish to know,
And when lesser points have been cleared away,
You are sure to fail us when we say—
"Belgium!"
You may rant and talk about British gold,
And opinions that are bought and sold,
But facts, no matter how hard to face,
Are facts, and the horrors taking place
In that little land, pledged to honor's creed,
Make your cause a luckless one to plead.
There are two sides? True. But when both are heard,
Our sad hearts echo a single word—
"Belgium!"
We are not misled by the savage tales
An invading army never fails
To have told of it. There are false and true,
And we want to render you your due.
But our hearts go out to that ravished land
Where a few grim heroes make their stand,
And our ears hear faintly, from overseas,
The wailing cry of those refugees—
"Belgium—Belgium—Belgium!"