Not as they planned it or will plan again,
Those captains whose commands were forged in hell,
Not as they promised for their terrible
Obedient horde, Teuton and Saracen,
Bulgar and Slav, not as they dreamed it then,
Masters of might with sobs for paeans to swell
Their darkening way, but like a far-off bell
Undoing night—the day has come for men.

The people's day has dawned, a deeper sky
Than any day that ever rose from sea,
And more than any captain dared is won,
And this great light that opens carries high
More justice than we dreamed of, even we
Who are still blind a while, facing the sun.

Not as they planned it or will plan again,
Those captains whose commands were forged in hell,
Not as they promised for their terrible
Obedient horde, Teuton and Saracen,
Bulgar and Slav, not as they dreamed it then,
Masters of might with sobs for paeans to swell
Their darkening way, but like a far-off bell
Undoing night—the day has come for men.

The people's day has dawned, a deeper sky
Than any day that ever rose from sea,
And more than any captain dared is won,
And this great light that opens carries high
More justice than we dreamed of, even we
Who are still blind a while, facing the sun.