Life, 1919-02-27 · page 7 of 38
Life — February 27, 1919 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a poem titled "Climax" by Katherine Kissum Johnson, addressing post-WWI America. The verse urges humble remembrance of fallen soldiers ("the dead who lie in Flanders") and sacrifice by women and children during "three long years" of war, cautioning against triumphalism or forgetting wartime suffering. The accompanying illustration, titled "After a Long Absence," depicts an emotional reunion: a soldier kneeling before a young child who asks, "Don't you know me? I'm your daddy," while a woman (likely the mother) watches from a doorway. The soldier responds he's "heard much talk of you." This illustration powerfully illustrates the human cost of prolonged war—the estrangement of fathers from children during years of separation—complementing the poem's call for solemn remembrance rather than celebration.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
r i LIFE . Climax ALK humbly, O America, to the crowning of Peace- With meek heart and reverence to the meeting of our peers; ct not, America, the weary months of silence, ¢ black high pride of three long years. vember, O America, the dead who lie in Flanders, e wounded and the slain of our great Allies; ember, too, the sacrifice of the women and the children, ¢ months we lay in darkness, unsecing with our eyes. ef. .. wid Make not demands, America, of the men who fought be- fore us, Be not domincering o'er the men who suffered most ; We have not known the whole white flame of sacrifice, Ii we have saved Democracy, let not that be our boast. Walk humbly, O America, to the crowning of Peace— With meek heart and reverence to the mecting of our peers; Forget not, O America, the weary months of silence, The black high pride of three long years Katherine Rissam Johnsen AFTER A LONG ABSENCE “non'T YOU KNOW ME? “PLEATHED TO MEET YOU. I'VE HEARD MUVVER TIPE I'M Your DAvby.” ‘AK OF you.”