27 FEBRUARY 1926, Page 20

POETRY

THE TREES THAT DIED IN THE WAR

To G.H.G.

$o gentle they, yet glorious, Living their lives unseen ; Treading the soil,. victorious,. Brave gods with banners green.

They asked for naught but the pleasure Of serving the sons of men, Lavish with leafy treasure When Spring should come again.

What answered we to their yearning ? What gave we for their cheer ? Hatred and shells and burning, Death in the Spring of the year.

Gone like a vanished city, Tragic and far as Greece.

God Shall they give us pity ?

Men ! Shall they bring us peace ?

ANGELA Ifosmix,