" Sit in! Sit in! " cry the Nations,
" Sit in to the greatest game
That ever was played
Since man was made
For Progress & Peace and Fame! "

" We play against War and Famine,
Pestilence, Ruin and Shame —
We stake our best
With all the rest —
Sit in! And play the game!

Great and small came the nations
Over the earth's expanse
Small and great
Piled state on state
To play for the world's advance.

But one — God pity the pikers!
One was afraid to play!
We might lose, they said,
If we went ahead,
We might have to fight — or pay!

Forty-three others are willing,
Forty-three others share,
For the common need
They forget their greed,
But we — God pity the pikers! — we do not dare!