A Man Must Live
A man must live. We justify
Low shift and trick to treason high,
A little vote for a little gold
To a whole senate bought and sold,
By that self-evident reply.
But is it so? Pray tell me why
Life at such cost you have to buy?
In what religion were you told
A man must live?
There are times when a man must die.
Imagine, for a battle-cry,
From soldiers, with a sword to hold,—
From soldiers, with the flag unrolled,—
This coward’s whine, this liar’s lie,—
A man must live!