Belgium
Edith Wharton
La Belgique ne regrette rien
NOT with her ruined silver spires,
Not with her cities shamed and rent,
Perish the imperishable fires
That shape the homestead from the tent.
Wherever men are staunch and free,
There shall she keep her fearless state,
And homeless, to great nations be
The home of all that makes them great
This poem is about the destruction of Belgium in World War One. Edith Wharton was living in France during the First World War and wrote about it extensively. She made frequent visits to the battlefields, including going up into the front line trenches.