Chaplain Harry’s Regret
Harry Emerson Fosdick as a young man was an officer in the
United States Army during World War I. In his capacity as chaplain he would
pray with the soldiers who would attack the German machine gun nest. The
majority of the soldiers would never return alive. In later life the preacher
regretted this part of his past.
What I’d done I’d rather not say
We would gather
In the morn to start the day
How could a word to the Creator be ill?
I prayed for blessings to kill
I prayed for blessings to kill!
I prayed for blessings
to kill
I would look the boys in their eyes
And fill their heads with lies
And say, “Boys do your best”
The machine gun nest they would attack
And most would not come back
I now walk the silent ground
Once filled with explosions and horrid sound
White crosses abound
Everywhere to be found
Lined neatly and precise row by row
Oh the secrets they know
I too was once young in age
My deeds recorded on eternal page
Yes I too was once the fool
The devil’s tool
What is war?
Once this green silent meadow
Was divided by two trenches defining no man’s land
War is Hell and nothing grand
It is humanity’s ugliest blight
And till this day fills me with fright
When I lay on my bed calm, serene and still
Recalling how I prayed for blessings to kill
I prayed for blessings to kill……
