Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
Poems of Sentiment: VI. Labor and RestThe Good Time Coming
Charles Mackay (1814–1889)T
A good time coming:
We may not live to see the day,
But earth shall glisten in the ray
Of the good time coming.
Cannon-balls may aid the truth,
But thought ’s a weapon stronger;
We ’ll win our battle by its aid;—
Wait a little longer.
A good time coming:
The pen shall supersede the sword,
And Right, not Might, shall be the lord
In the good time coming.
Worth, not Birth, shall rule mankind,
And be acknowledged stronger;
The proper impulse has been given;—
Wait a little longer.
A good time coming:
War in all men’s eyes shall be
A monster of iniquity
In the good time coming.
Nations shall not quarrel then,
To prove which is the stronger;
Nor slaughter men for glory’s sake;—
Wait a little longer.
A good time coming:
Hateful rivalries of creed
Shall not make their martyrs bleed
In the good time coming.
Religion shall be shorn of pride,
And flourish all the stronger;
And Charity shall trim her lamp;—
Wait a little longer.
A good time coming:
And a poor man’s family
Shall not be his misery
In the good time coming.
Every child shall be a help
To make his right arm stronger;
The happier he, the more he has;—
Wait a little longer.
A good time coming:
Little children shall not toil
Under, or above, the soil
In the good time coming;
But shall play in healthful fields,
Till limbs and mind grow stronger;
And every one shall read and write;—
Wait a little longer.
A good time coming:
The people shall be temperate,
And shall love instead of hate,
In the good time coming.
They shall use, and not abuse,
And make all virtue stronger;
The reformation has begun;—
Wait a little longer.
A good time coming:
Let us aid it all we can,
Every woman, every man,
The good time coming:
Smallest helps, if rightly given,
Make the impulse stronger;
’T will be strong enough one day;—
Wait a little longer.