War is Kind by Stephen Crane Presented by Paul Zimbardo

Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.

Because your lover threw wild hands toward the sky,

And the affrighted steed ran on alone,

Do not weep. War is kind.

Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,

Little souls who thirst for fight,

These men were born to drill and die.

The unexplained glory flies above them,

Great is the battle-god, great, and his kingdom –

A field where a thousand corpses lie.

Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.

Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,

Raged at his breast, gulped and died,

Do not weep. War is kind.

Swift blazing flag of the regiment,

Eagle with crest of red and gold,

These men were born to drill and die.

Point for them the virtue of slaughter,

Make plain to them the excellence of killing

And a field where a thousand corpses lie.

Mother whose heart hung humble as a button

On the bright splendid shroud of your son,

Do not weep. War is kind.

About The Author Stephen Crane was an American author and poet who was born on November 1, 1871, as the youngest of fourteen children. By the time he was nine years old, both of his parents had passed on, and he was forced to support himself with his writings while he attended Lafayette College. The Red Badge of Courage is Crane’s most famous work, but two years later he published War is Kind, his second book of poetry. Red Badge often overshadows Crane’s poetry, but his poems, especially War is Kind, are just as powerful and significant, especially in his stark depiction of war. Crane died June 5, 1900, at the age of twenty-eight.

Works Cited: Berryman, John. Stephen Crane. New York: Octagon Books, Dooley, Patrick Kiaran. Stephen Crane: An Annotated Bibliography of Secondary Scholarship. New York: G.K. Hall, Hoffman, Daniel. The Poetry of Stephen Crane. New York: Columbia UP, Stephen Crane: Biography and Works The Literature Network. 6 Sept Stephen Crane: Biography and Works The Literature Network. 6 Sept Stephen Crane Life Stories 6 Sept Today in Literature. 6 Sept Stephen Crane Life Stories 6 Sept Today in Literature. 6 Sept Weatherford, Richard M. Stephen Crane: The Critical Heritage. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd: Massachusets, Wertheim, Stanley. A Stephen Crane Encyclopedia. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1997.