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Title: The Canadian Way
Author: Abner Cosens [
More Titles by Cosens]
January, 1915
When times are good, and labor dear
We coax the British workman here,
And should he shrink to cross the drink,
We tell him he has naught to fear.
But when the times are hard and straight,
His is indeed a sorry fate;
We let him die, with starving cry,
Like Lazarus, beside our gate.
When all the battle flags are furled,
And wolf and lamb together curled,
We loudly sing,--"God Save the King,"
And bid defiance to the world.
When some must go to bear the brunt,
And check the German Kaiser's stunt,
We still can brag, and wave the flag,
But send the British to the front.
When Princess Pats charge down the pike,
And put the Germans on the hike,
We shout,--"Hooray for Canaday!
The world has never seen our like."
But when word comes across the waves,
The first contingent misbehaves,
We cry aloud to all the crowd,
"Them British born are fools or knaves."
When other men with sword and gun,
Would stop the fierce destroying Hun,
We count the cost as money lost,
And still look out for number one.
When other lands attain their goal,
Our name will blacken Heaven's scroll,
A thing of scorn, all men to warn;
A country that has lost its soul.
[The end]
Abner Cosens's poem: Canadian Way
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