I

O you rulers and princes of kingdoms,
 You have prayed—and for what have you prayed?
Your wildest ambitions have brought you
 But a trust and people betrayed.
Hark! Hark! to the feet of stern thousands
 As they tramp, bloody-shod, on the way,
And they march in the splendor of dawning—
 In the soul-searching light of THE DAY!

II

You have sinned in the court of Belshazzar,
 O you tyrants, all deaf to the storm;
You have drunk from the courtesan's wine-cup
 While the soul of the people took form;
Like swine you have fed from the vessels
 That were blessed in the blood of the fray,
And now you stand trembling and fearful—
 In the soul-searching light of THE DAY!

III

O you cravens, you sent them to slaughter,
 And they died as they always die—
Like men, as they fought for their hearthstones,
 Not knowing your cheat and your lie;
But they'll strip you now in the market-place,
 And all naked they'll make you pay;
And naked you'll give them your reckoning—
 In the soul-searching light of THE DAY!