Serbia (Helen Leah Reed, 1915)

The poem “Serbia” was written by the American writer Helen Leah Reed in 1915, and the poem was later published in two of her books, the collections “Remembrance Day and Other Verses” and “Serbia, a Sketch”, both from 1917.

Helen Leah Reed, Serbia, 1915.

Helen Leah Reed, Serbia (1916)

Хелен Ли Рид, Србија, Скица (1915.)

Serbia, valiant daughter of the Ages,
Happiness and light should be thy portion!
Yet thy day is dimmed, thine heart is heavy;
Long hast thou endured-a little longer
Bear thy burden, for a fair to-morrow
Soon will gleam upon thy flower-spread valleys,
Soon will brighten all thy shadowy mountains;
Soon will sparkle on thy foaming torrents
Rushing toward the world beyond thy rivers.
Bulgar, Turk and Magyar long assailed thee.
Now the Teuton’s cruel hand is on thee
Though he break thy heart and rack thy body,
‘Tis not his to crush thy lofty spirit.
Serbia cannot die. She lives immortal,
Serbia—all thy loyal men bring comfort
Fighting, fighting, and thy far-flung banner
Blazons to the world thy high endeavor,
—This thy strife for brotherhood and freedom—
Like an air-free bird unknowing bondage,
Soaring far from carnage, smoke and tumult,
Serbia—thy soul shall live forever!
Serbia, undaunted is, immortal!

Helen Leah Reed, Memorial Day, and Other Verse (Original and Translated), De Wolfe and Fiske co. 20 Franklin St. Boston, 1917.

Helen Leah Reed, Serbia: A Sketch, 1917.

Helen Leah Reed: Wikipedia

Helen Leah Reed

(St. John’s, March 15, 1864 – Cambridge, July 21, 1926) was an American teacher and writer. She graduated from Radcliffe College, Cambridge; She wrote books for children that were as entertaining as they were informative, and is best remembered for her series of children’s novels “Brenda”.

Helen Leah Reed wrote Serbia: A Sketch (1917) at the urging of Mabel Grujić, wife of Serbian diplomat Slavko Grujić, founder of the Serbian Sisters Circle.

Serbia: A Sketch is an easily readable summary of the history of Serbia up to World War I, with an emphasis on evoking sympathy for the Serbs during World War I.

Works by Helen Leah Reid:

The City and the Sea: With Other Cambridge Contributions in Aid of the Hospital Fund (1881)

Miss Theodora: A West End Story (1898)

Napoleon’s Young Neighbor (1907)

Memorial Day, and Other Verse (Original and Translated) (1917)

Serbia: A Sketch (1917)

Brenda, Her School and Her Club (1900)

Brenda’s Summer at Rockley (1901)

Brenda’s Cousin at Radcliffe (1902)

Brenda’s Bargain: A Story for Girls (1903)

Amy in Acadia: A Story for Girls (1905)

Brenda’s Ward: A Sequel to Amy and Acadia (1906)

Irma and Nap (1904)

Irma in Italy: A Travel Story (1908)

Prepared by: Dalibor Drekić

Source: Gutenberg

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