Spencer Heath Archive

Item 2937

Typed poem by Heath’s good friend of many years, Margot J. Luker, on a ring-binder page without any attribution of authorship but with penciling in Spencer MacCallum’s hand, evidently identifying the poem when he once asked Heath about it: “Margot J. Luker, concluding sonnet, term paper.” Also penciling on seventh line identifies “blind” as a verb and “songless birds” as ostriches. The subject matter may or may not relate to Secretary of State Cordell Hull’s proposed policy for peace referred to in the 1939 New York Tribune newspaper clipping of an article by Mark Sullivan now attached to the original of this item: “Path to Peace Rutted by War with All Asking: How Change It? Mark Sullivan Says None Has Answer to Query; Hull’s Formula for Unity by World Trade Found Shattered by Sinkings of Cargoes.” Hull’s proposed policy for peace was consistent with Heath’s ideas, while the sixth line of the sonnet reflects his emphasis on action, and the last lines his thinking on the Golden Rule. The title of the poem, “United Nations,” suggests it was composed after the war. Item 2938 shows that Heath first met Margot during the war, since Margot at that time had served a year in the WACs and not reenlisted but had a friend still serving, as was Heath’s daughter, Beatrice O’Connell.

 

 

 

 

UNITED NATIONS

 

Oh god, unto Thy altar let us bring

Not prayer but paean — music we have wrought;

A one-world song that all Thy choirs can sing

And find therein the surcease we have sought

In sovereignties and powers, vain schemes and words

That hold no deeds of peace to honor Thee,

But blind, like sand the heads of songless birds.

Can yearning ne’er be turned to ecstasy?

Shall freedom’s dream in darkness pass away

In fear of atom bomb and faith in state?

Or wilt Thou deify Thy sons to say,

“Exchange of service is the golden gate

To peace.” Thy Kingdom makes no war on wrong.

Let world-exchanging be our paean, our song.

 

 

 

/Extracted from the 1939 newspaper article by Mark Sullivan before

the USA had entered the war:/

 

“One of the most conscientious statesmen in the contemporary world is Secretary of State Cordell Hull. He had, some years  before the war began, a formula for world peace. This formula, here repeated from memory, ran thus: A fundamental cause of war is economic distress of peoples. Hence the largest contribution to world peace would be to bring about economic well-being on the part of peoples. To bring about economic well-being, Mr. Hull recommended expansion of trade between nations, reduction of those barriers which impede world trade.” …