For The Wounded (1871)

(See Note 51)     A still procession goes     Amid the battle's booming,     Its arm the red cross shows;     It prays in many forms of speech,     And, bending o'er the fallen,     Brings peace and home to each.     Not only is it found     Where bleed the wounds of battle,     But all the world around.     It is the love the whole world feels     In noble hearts and tender,     While gentle pity kneels; -     It is all labor's dread     Of war's mad waste and murder,     Praying that peace may spread;     It is all sufferers who heed     The sighing of a brother,     And know his sorrow's need; -     It is each groan of pain     Heard from the sick and wounded,     'T is Christian prayer humane;     It is their cry who lonely grope,     'T is the oppressed man's moaning,     The dying breath of hope; -     This rainbow-bridge of prayers     Up through the world's wild tempest     In light of Christ's faith bears:     That love and loving deeds     May conquer strife and passion;     For thus His promise reads.