The Lighthouse

“It knows no lands, no flags, no kings,
These are inconsequential things.
The one important thing tonight
That every seaman, black or white,
Who seeks a harbor sees a light.

“We talk about world brotherhood,
But only here we make it good.
We go on building ships of war,
But God be praised, do one thing more;
We build a lighthouse on the shore.

“The lighthouse has no special friends,
No special foes, when night descends.
In all the earth the only place,
Though statesmen talk and kings embrace,
Where man becomes one common race.”