A Hymn to the Peoples

O Truce of God! And primal meeting of the Sons of Man, Foreshadowing the union of the World! From all the ends of earth we come! Old Night, the elder sister of the Day, Mother of Dawn in the golden East, Meets in the misty twilight with her brood, Pale and black, tawny, red and brown, The mighty human rainbow of the world, Spanning its wilderness of storm. Softly in sympathy the sunlight falls, Rare is the radiance of the moon; And on the darkest midnight blaze the stars— The far-flown shadows of whose brilliance Drop like a dream on the dim shores of Time, Forecasting Days that are to these As day to night. So sit we all as one. So, gloomed in tall and stone-swathed groves, The Buddha walks with Christ! And Al-Koran and Bible both be holy! Almighty Word! In this Thine awful sanctuary, First and flame-haunted City of the Widened World, Assoil us, Lord of Lands and Seas! We are but weak and wayward men, Distraught alike with hatred and vainglory; Prone to despise the Soul that breathes within— High visioned hordes that lie and steal and kill, Sinning the sin each separate heart disclaims, Clambering upon our riven, writhing selves, Besieging Heaven by trampling men to Hell! We be blood-guilty! Lo, our hands be red! Not one may blame the other in this sin! But here—here in the white Silence of the Dawn, Before the Womb of Time, With bowed hearts all flame and shame, We face the birth-pangs of a world: We hear the stifled cry of Nations all but born— The wail of women ravished of their stunted brood! We see the nakedness of Toil, the poverty of Wealth, We know the Anarchy of Empire, and doleful Death of Life! And hearing, seeing, knowing all, we cry: Save us, World-Spirit, from our lesser selves! Grant us that war and hatred cease, Reveal our souls in every race and hue! Help us, O Human God, in this Thy Truce, To make Humanity divine!

O Truce of God! And first meeting of the Sons of Man, Foretelling the union of the World! We come from all the ends of the earth! Old Night, the older sister of Day, Mother of Dawn in the golden East, Meets her children in the misty twilight, Pale and black, tawny, red and brown, The mighty human rainbow of the world, Stretching across its stormy wilderness. The sunlight falls gently, in sympathy, The moon's radiance is rare; And stars blaze in the darkest midnight. The distant shadows of their brilliance Fall like a dream on the dim shores of Time, Foretelling Days that will be to these days As day is to night. So we all sit as one. So, in the shadows of tall groves of stone, The Buddha walks with Christ! And both Al-Koran and Bible are holy! Almighty Word! In this awe-inspiring sanctuary of yours, First and fire-haunted City of the Widened World, Forgive us, Lord of Lands and Seas! We are only weak and wayward men, Troubled alike by hatred and vanity; Prone to despise the Soul that breathes within us. We are high-minded hordes that lie and steal and kill. Together we commit the sin each separate heart disowns. We climb over our own torn and writhing bodies, Storming Heaven by trampling men into Hell! We are guilty of bloodshed! Look, our hands are red! Not one of us can blame another for this sin! But here, here in the white Silence of the Dawn, Before the Womb of Time, With bowed hearts full of passion and shame, We face the birth pains of a world: We hear the muffled cry of Nations almost born, The wail of women whose stunted children have been torn from them! We see Toil stripped bare, and the poverty of Wealth, We know the Anarchy of Empire, and the sorrowful Death of Life! And hearing, seeing, and knowing all this, we cry: Save us, World-Spirit, from our lesser selves! Grant that war and hatred cease, Reveal our souls in every race and hue! Help us, O Human God, in this Truce of yours, To make Humanity divine!