Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ten Thousand Men a Day

All the world was wearying,
   All the world was sad;
Everything was shadow-filled;
   Things were going bad.
Then a rumour stirred all hearts
   As a wind stirs trees—
Ten thousand men a day
   Coming over seas!

Soon we saw them marching by—
   God! what a sight!—
Shoulders back, and heads erect,
   Faces full of light.
Smiling like a morn in May,
   Moving like a breeze,
Ten thousand men a day
   Coming over seas.

Weary soldiers worn with war
   Lifted up their eyes,
Shadows seemed to fade a bit,
   Dawn was in the skies.
Hope sprang to troubled hearts,
   Strength to tired knees:
Ten thousand men a day
   Were coming over seas.

France and England swarmed with them,
   Khaki-clad and young,
Filled with all the joy of life—
   Into line they swung.
Waning valour rose anew
   At the sight of these
Ten thousand men a day
   Coming over seas.

Still they come—and still they come
   In their strength and pride.
Victory with radiant mien
   Marches on beside.
Victory is here to stay,
   Every heart agrees,
With ten thousand men a day
   Coming over seas.