More poetry for the masses

Earlier today I linked to the Wall Street Journals heartfelt but profoundly crapulent* pro-war poetry. This has brought out the poetry lovers in my email. My two favorites:

"next to of course god america i
love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh
say can you see by the dawn's early my
country 'tis of centuries come and go
and are no more what of it we should worry
in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim thy glorious name by gorry
by jingo by gee by gosh by gum
why talk of beauty what could be more beaut-
iful than these heroic happy dead
who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter
they did not stop to think they died instead
then shall the voice of liberty be mute?"

He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water

e e cummings, 1926

(sent in by Brian)

and

"If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied."

-- Rudyard Kipling

(sent in by Megan)

Oh, sure they're not:

So do take pause before telling a lie,
for there's one more thing I saw on that night,
as the wind and the rain began to die,
I walked away, turned, and beheld a light.

...but what is?

(* Note to self...used "crapulent. Tear off April 6th on Word of the Day calendar)