J. Augustine Signaigo
You have told me that you love me,
That you worship at my shrine;
That no purity above me
Can on earth be more divine.
Though the kind words you have spoken.
Sound to me most sweetly strange,
Will your pledges ne’er be broken?
Will there be in you no change?
If you love me half so wildly–
Half so madly as you say,
Listen to me, darling, mildly–
Would you do aught I would pray?
If you would, then hear the thunder
Of our country’s cannon speak!
While by war she’s rent asunder,
Do not come my love to seek.
If you love me, do not ponder,
Do not breathe what you would say,
Do not look at me with wonder,
Join your country in the fray.
Go! your aid and right hand lend her,
Breast the tyrant’s angry blast:
Be her own and my defender–
Strike for freedom to the last,
Then I’ll vow to love none other,
While you nobly dare and do;
As you’re faithful to our mother,
So I’ll faithful prove to you.
But return not while the thunder
Lives in one invading sword;
Strike the despot’s hirelings under–
Own no master but the Lord.
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Analysis (AI Assisted)
This poem stages love as a test rather than a comfort. It opens with romantic language that sounds familiar and reassuring, but almost immediately that tone is unsettled. The speaker does not simply accept declarations of devotion. Instead, she questions them and asks what they are worth when weighed against duty. Love, in this poem, is not measured by words or longing looks but by action taken elsewhere, away from her.
The speaker places herself deliberately in the background. Even though she is the one being addressed and desired, she refuses to be the center of the man’s attention while the country is at war. This reversal is important. Rather than the lover asking the man to stay, she demands his absence. The poem treats war as a moral filter that reveals whether love is real or self-indulgent. If he truly loves her, he must leave her.
The language used to describe this choice is direct and insistent. The repeated “if you love me” becomes less a romantic phrase and more a challenge. Each repetition narrows the acceptable response. Thinking, speaking, wondering, even looking are all framed as distractions. The only valid response is to act. War is not presented as tragic or ambiguous here; it is framed as a clear struggle against tyranny, one that requires immediate participation.
The woman’s voice is calm but firm. She does not beg, and she does not soften her demand. Her promise of faithfulness is conditional, tied directly to his loyalty to the nation. Romantic fidelity mirrors patriotic fidelity. The poem suggests that private love cannot exist honestly if public duty is ignored. This reflects a broader wartime idea that personal desires must be postponed or sacrificed entirely.
Religious language reinforces this structure. The speaker refers to the country as “our mother,” giving national loyalty a familial and moral weight. In the final lines, allegiance to God is placed above all earthly authority, including rulers and even personal relationships. This framing elevates the conflict into something sacred and unavoidable. The war becomes not just a political struggle but a moral obligation sanctioned by faith.
What the poem does not do is dwell on fear, loss, or uncertainty. There is no acknowledgment of the possibility that the lover may not return. The emotional cost is implied but not explored. The speaker’s strength depends on suppressing that fear. Her role is to send him forward, not to grieve in advance. This restraint keeps the poem focused on resolve rather than vulnerability.
As a war poem, this piece shows how intimate relationships were often enlisted in service of the larger cause. Love is not an escape from war but another arena where loyalty is tested. The poem turns romance into motivation and discipline, reinforcing the idea that true love aligns itself with national struggle, even when that alignment requires separation and silence.