God said I am tired of kings.
God said, “I am tired of kings,”—
But that was a long while ago!
And meantime man said, “No—
I like their looks in their robes and rings.”
So he crowned a few more,
And they went on playing the game as before,
Fighting and spoiling things.
Man said, “I am tired of kings!
Sons of the robber-chiefs of yore,
They make me pay for their lust and their war;
I am the puppet, they pull the strings;
The blood of my heart is the wine they drink.
I will govern myself for awhile I think,
And see what that brings!”
Then God, who made the first remark,
Smiled in the dark.
October, 1915
Read at the meeting of the American Academy, Boston, November, 1915