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The document promotes the availability of various eBooks on organization development and change, including multiple editions of key texts. It emphasizes the importance of organization development as a field that enhances organizational effectiveness and employee engagement through planned interventions. Additionally, it highlights the resources available for both instructors and students to support learning in this area.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
2 views

(eBook PDF) Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational Change 4th Edition instant download

The document promotes the availability of various eBooks on organization development and change, including multiple editions of key texts. It emphasizes the importance of organization development as a field that enhances organizational effectiveness and employee engagement through planned interventions. Additionally, it highlights the resources available for both instructors and students to support learning in this area.

Uploaded by

maratashuqri
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Detailed Contents
Preface
Exercises and Activities
Ancillaries
Acknowledgments
1. What Is Organization Development?
Organization Development Defined
Making the Case for Organization Development
What Organization Development Looks Like
What Organization Development Is Not
Who This Book Is For
Overview of the Book
Analyzing Case Studies
Summary
2. History of Organization Development
Laboratory Training and T-Groups
Action Research, Survey Feedback, and Sociotechnical Systems
Management Practices
Quality and Employee Involvement
Organizational Culture
Change Management, Strategic Change, and Reengineering
Organizational Learning
Organizational Effectiveness and Employee Engagement
Summary
3. Core Values and Ethics of Organization Development
Defining Values
Why Are Values Important to the OD Practitioner?
Core Values of Organization Development
Changes to OD Values Over Time and the Values Debate
Challenges to Holding Organization Development Values
Statement of Organization Development Ethics
Summary
Appendix
Case Study 1: Analyzing Opportunities for Organization Development Work
at Northern County Legal Services
4. Foundations of Organizational Change
Levels and Characteristics of Organizational Change
Models of Organizational Change: Systems Theory and Social Construction
Approaches
Organizations as Systems
Organizations as Socially Constructed
Summary
5. The Organization Development Practitioner and the OD Process
The Consulting Relationship and Types of Consulting
The Organization Development Consulting Model
OD Practitioners: Who Are They and Where Do They Work?
The Organization Development Consulting Profession
The OD Consulting Process and Action Research
A Dialogic Approach to OD
Summary
6. Entry and Contracting
Entry
Contracting
Summary
7. Data Gathering
The Importance of Data Gathering
Presenting Problems and Underlying Problems
Data Gathering Process
Data Gathering Methods
Creating a Data Gathering Strategy and Proposing an Approach
Ethical Issues With Data Gathering
Summary
Case Study 2: Proposing a Data Gathering Strategy at TLG Solutions
8. Diagnosis and Feedback
Diagnosis: Discovery, Assessment, Analysis, and Interpretation
Finding Patterns by Analyzing Data
Interpreting Data
Selecting and Prioritizing Themes
Feedback
Resistance
Ethical Issues With Diagnosis and Giving Feedback
Summary
Case Study 3: Sorting Through the Data From Logan Elementary School
9. An Introduction to Interventions
Interventions Defined
Why Interventions Fail
Considerations in Selecting the Right Intervention Strategy
Structuring and Planning Interventions for Success
The Change Agent’s Role in the Intervention
Ethical Issues With Interventions
Overview of Intervention Techniques
Summary
10. Individual Interventions
Individual Change and Reactions to Change
Individual Instruments and Assessments
Coaching
Mentoring
360 Feedback
Career Planning and Development
Summary
Case Study 4: Individual Type Styles at the Parks Department
11. Team Interventions
Defining Teams
What Makes a Successful Team?
Special Types of Teams
Team Development
Team-Building Interventions
Intergroup Interventions
Summary
Case Study 5: Solving Team Challenges at DocSystems Billing, Inc.
12. Whole Organization and Multiple Organization Interventions (Part 1)
Characteristics of Contemporary Large-Scale Interventions
Organizational Culture Assessment and Change
Organization Design and Structure
Directional Interventions
Summary
Case Study 6: Reorganizing Human Resources at ASP Software
13. Whole Organization and Multiple Organization Interventions (Part 2)
Quality and Productivity Interventions
Interventions in Mergers and Acquisitions
Transorganization or Interorganization Development
Dialogic OD Consultation and Interventions
Summary
Case Study 7: The Future of the Crossroads Center
14. Sustaining Change, Evaluating, and Ending an Engagement
Sustaining Change After the Intervention
Evaluation
Ending an Engagement: Separation and Exit
Summary
15. Global Issues in Organization Development
OD’s Challenges in a Global Environment
Dimensions of Global Cultural Difference
OD Values, Interventions, and Culture
Case Examples and Research Findings
Advice for the Global OD Practitioner
Summary
Case Study 8: A Global Partnership at GFAC Consulting
16. The Future of Organization Development
Increasing Complexity of Change
Changing Workforce Demographics
Changing Nature of Work
The Current State of OD: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities
Conclusion: The Future of OD
Summary
References
Author Index
Subject Index
About the Author
Preface

It seems that every few years, the field of organization development (OD) finds itself at
a crossroads. Some feel that the field has strayed too far from its founding humanistic
values of democracy, diversity, autonomy, collaboration, and choice. They argue that
OD is in danger of being diluted or collapsed into human resources roles, leadership
development, and talent management. Others feel that the “touchy feely” old values
deserve a fresh update and that OD practitioners have a great deal to contribute to
organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and enhanced performance. They see the role
of the practitioner as a business adviser who can incorporate humanistic values without
being hypocritical.

I wrote (and continue to update) this book because I firmly believe that OD as a field of
research and practice has much to offer to people in contemporary organizations who
are struggling with an incredible amount of change. Old management styles no longer fit
the needs of today’s workplace and workers. New organizational forms are emerging to
cope with the increasing pace of change, globalization, digitization and the latest
technologies, economic pressures, and the expectations of the contemporary workforce.
Managers struggle to engage employees despite ever-present threats of downsizing and
outsourcing. In such an environment, many employees find work to be less personally
satisfying than they did before.

Skilled OD practitioners understand the dynamics of human systems and can intervene
to encourage a healthy, engaging, and productive environment. Unfortunately, it has been
challenging for many students to develop these skills. It generally requires “breaking
in” to an OD department, finding a (hopefully skilled) mentor, and learning as much as
possible through academic courses or self-discovery. While they are regularly tested on
the job, managers and executives have few opportunities to develop their skills as
change agents as well. Project managers, IT professionals, educators, and health care
administrators all report that the skills of OD are applicable to their jobs.

My hope is that this book will provide theoretical and practical background in OD to
give you an introduction to the basic processes of organization development and
change. It will also give you a chance to practice in a safe environment where you can
develop your skills. I hope you find the book to be readable but rigorous—practical
and relevant but with a solid academic foundation—and comprehensive enough without
being exhausting.

For this fourth edition, I have updated many sections of the book to reflect recent
research and advances in practice while retaining classic approaches and foundational
theories with which most practitioners ought to be familiar. Highlights of this new
edition include the following:

A new case study after Chapter 7 that can be used as a multipart case (additional
parts are located on the companion website)
Additional examples of global issues in organization development
Enhanced coverage of recent theory and practice in dialogic approaches to OD
Discussion questions at the end of each chapter
Activities, exercises, and role plays following most chapters
New readings at the end of each chapter, where appropriate

My continued thanks to the students at the University of Denver as well as the clients
who share with me their struggles in achieving change at work. As always, I am grateful
to my family and friends, especially my wife, Jennifer, whose encouragement means
everything.
Exercises and Activities
Many chapters contain exercises, activities, and role plays that can be used to practice
skills and apply concepts developed in several chapters of the book. This chart details
which exercises and activities accompany which chapter and topic.
Ancillaries
Instructor Teaching Site
A password-protected instructor’s manual is available at
study.sagepub.com/andersonod4e to help instructors plan and teach their courses.
These resources have been designed to help instructors make the classes as practical
and interesting as possible for students.

An Overview for the Instructor offers the author’s insights on how to most
effectively use this book in a course on organization development and change.
PowerPoint Slides capture key concepts and terms for each chapter for use in
lectures and review.
Case Epilogues provide additional information about the organizations or
scenarios featured in the text.
Discussion Questions suggest additional topics to engage students during
classroom discussions and activities.
Sample Course Syllabi provide models for structuring your course.
A Test Bank includes multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay exam questions
for each chapter.
Video Resources for each chapter help launch class discussion.
Visit https://testbankfan.com
now to explore a rich
collection of testbank or
solution manual and enjoy
exciting offers!
Student Study Site
An open-access student study site can be found at study.sagepub.com/andersonod4e.
The site offers videos of the author discussing the major stages of organization
development, Web links to additional tools, and Learning From SAGE Journal
Articles, with access to recent, relevant, full-text articles from SAGE’s leading
research journals. Each article supports and expands on the concepts presented in the
book. This feature also provides discussion questions to focus and guide student
interpretation.

This text is accompanied by Cases and Exercises in Organization Development &


Change, Second Edition (ISBN 978-1-5063-4447-8), which follows the same chapter
organization as this text. A bundle of this text with the cases and exercises book is also
available.
Acknowledgments

SAGE Publishing would like to thank the following reviewers for their contributions to
the manuscript:

Gerald D. Bouey, Lewis University


Carol A. Gravel, Binnacle Organizational and Learning Development, LLC
Michael A. Guerra, Lincoln University
Georgia L. Hampton, Jefferson County Public Schools
Melinda M. Howard, University of Oklahoma
Allen I. Kraut, Baruch College, CUNY
Helen Muyia, Texas A&M University, College Station
Tom J. Sanders, University of Montevallo
Jeffrey M. Zimmerman, Northern Kentucky University
Chapter 1 What Is Organization Development?

Think for a moment about the organizations to which you belong. You probably have
many to name, such as the company where you work, a school, perhaps a volunteer
organization, or a reading group. You are undoubtedly influenced by many other
organizations in your life, such as a health care organization like a doctor’s office or
hospital, a church group, a child’s school, a bank, or the local city council or state
government. Using an expansive definition of organization, you could name your own
family or a group of friends as an organization that you belong to as well. With just a
few moments’ reflection, you are likely to be able to name dozens of organizations that
you belong to or that influence you.

Now consider an organization that you currently do not belong to, but one that you were
dissatisfied with at some point in the past. What was it about that organization that
made the experience dissatisfying? Perhaps you left a job because you did not have the
opportunity to contribute that you would have liked. Maybe it was a dissatisfying team
atmosphere, or you were not appreciated or recognized for the time and energy that you
dedicated to the job. It could have been a change to your responsibilities, the team, or
the organization’s processes. Some people report that they did not feel a larger sense of
purpose at work, they did not have control or autonomy over their work, or they did not
find an acceptable path to growth and career development. Perhaps you’ve witnessed
or been part of an organization that has failed for some reason. Perhaps it went out of
business or it disbanded because it could no longer reach its goals.

You’ve likely had some excellent experiences in organizations, too. You may have had
a job that was especially fulfilling or where you learned a great deal and coworkers
became good friends. Maybe your local volunteer organization helped a number of
people through organized fundraisers or other social services activities. Perhaps you
joined or started a local community group to successfully campaign against the decision
of your local city council or school board.

All of this is to demonstrate what you already know intuitively, that we spend a great
deal of our lives working in, connected to, and affected by organizations. Some of these
organizations function quite well, whereas others struggle. Some are quite rewarding
environments in which to work or participate, but in others, organizational members are
frustrated, neglected, and disengaged.

The purpose of this book is to introduce you to the field of organization development,
an area of academic study and professional practice focused on making organizations
better—that is, more effective and productive and at the same time more rewarding,
satisfying, and engaging places in which to work and participate. By learning about the
field of organization development and the process by which it is conducted, you will be
a more effective change agent inside the organizations to which you belong.
Organization Development Defined
Organization development (OD) is an interdisciplinary field with contributions from
business, industrial/organizational psychology, human resources management,
communication, sociology, and many other disciplines. Not surprisingly, for a field with
such diverse intellectual roots, there are many definitions of organization development.
Definitions can be illuminating, as they point us in a direction and provide a shared
context for mutual discussion, but they can also be constraining, as certain concepts are
inevitably left out, with boundaries drawn to exclude some activities. What counts as
OD thus depends on the practitioner and the definition, and these definitions have
changed over time. In a study of 27 definitions of organization development published
since 1969, Egan (2002) found that there were as many as 60 different variables listed
in those definitions. Nonetheless, there are some points on which definitions converge.

One of the most frequently cited definitions of OD comes from Richard Beckhard
(1969), an early leader in the field of OD:

Organization development is an effort (1) planned, (2) organizationwide, and (3)


managed from the top, to (4) increase organization effectiveness and health
through (5) planned interventions in the organization’s “processes,” using
behavioral-science knowledge. (p. 9)

Beckhard’s definition has many points that have survived the test of time, including his
emphasis on organizational effectiveness, the use of behavioral science knowledge, and
the inclusion of planned interventions in the organization’s functions. Some critique this
definition, however, for its emphasis on planned change (many organizational changes,
and thus OD efforts, are in response to environmental threats that are not so neatly
planned) and its emphasis on the need to drive organizational change through top
management. Many contemporary OD activities do not necessarily happen at the top
management level, as increasingly organizations are developing less hierarchical
structures.

A more recent definition comes from Burke and Bradford (2005):

Based on (1) a set of values, largely humanistic; (2) application of the behavioral
sciences; and (3) open systems theory, organization development is a systemwide
process of planned change aimed toward improving overall organization
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I am the Kallyope, Kallyope, Kallyope,


Tooting hope, tooting hope, tooting hope, tooting hope;
Shaking window-pane and door
With a crashing cosmic tune,
With the war-cry of the spheres,
Rhythm of the roar of noon,
Rhythm of Niagara’s roar,
Voicing planet, star and moon,
Shrieking of the better years.
Prophet-singers will arise,
Prophets coming after me,
Sing my song in softer guise
With more delicate surprise;
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Voice of the Democracy;
I am the gutter-dream,
I am the golden dream,
Singing science, singing steam.
I will blow the proud folk down,
(Listen to the lion roar!)
I am the Kallyope, Kallyope, Kallyope,
Tooting hope, tooting hope, tooting hope, tooting hope,
Willy willy willy wah hoo!
Hoot toot, hoot toot, hoot toot, hoot toot,
Whoop whoop, whoop whoop,
Whoop whoop, whoop whoop,
Willy willy willy wah hoo!
Sizz .....
Fizz .....
The Forum Nicholas Vachel Lindsay
THANKSGIVING FOR OUR
TASK
The sickle is dulled of the reaping and the threshing-floor is bare;
The dust of night’s in the air.
The peace of the weary is ours:
All day we have taken the fruit and the grain and the seeds of the
flowers.

The ev’ning is chill,


It is good now to gather in peace by the flames of the fire.
We have done now the deed that we did for our need and desire:
We have wrought our will.

And now for the boon of abundance and golden increase,


And immurèd peace,
Shall we thank our God?
Bethink us, amid His indulgence, His terrible rod?

Shall we be as the maple and oak,


Strew the earth with our gold, giving only bare boughs to the sky?
Nay, the pine stayeth green while the Winter growls sullenly by,
And doth not revoke

For soft days or stern days the pledge of its constancy.


Shall we not be
Also the same through all days,
Giving thanks when the battle breaks on us, in toil giving praise?

O Father who saw at the dawn,


That the folly of Pride would be the lush weed of our sin,
There is better than that in our hearts, O enter therein,
A light burneth, though wan

And weak be the flame, yet it gloweth, our Humility!


Ah, how can it be
Trimmed o’ the wick,
And replenished with oil to burn brightly and golden and quick?

For deep in our hearts


For deep in our hearts
We wish to be thankful through lean years and fat without change,
Knowing that here Thou hast set for the spirit a range:
We would play well our parts,

Making America throb with the building of souls and the glory of
good;
Yea, and we would,
And before the last Autumn we will
Build a temple from ocean to ocean where deeds never still

Melodiously shall proclaim


Thanksgiving forever that Thou hast set here to our hand
So wondrous a mystical harvest, that Thou dost demand
Sheaves bound in Thy name,

Yea, supersubstantial sheaves of strong souls that have grown


Fain to be known
As the corn of Thine occident field:
O Yielder of All, can America worthily thank Thee till such be her
yield?

In the mellowing light


Of the goldenest days that precede the gray days of the year,
We sing Thee our harvesting song and we pray Thee to hear,
In the midst of Thy might:

Labor is given to us,


Let us give thanks!
Power worketh through us,
Let us give thanks!
Not for what we have
(So might speak a slave),
Not for the garnering,
Gratefully we sing,
But for the mighty thing
We must do, travailing!
For our task and for our strength;
For our task and for our strength;
For the journey and its length;
For our dauntless eagerness;
For our humbling weariness;
For these, for these, O Father,
Let us give thanks!
For these, O Mighty Father,
Take Thou our thanks!
The Forum Shaemas OSheel
A LIKENESS
Portrait Bust of an Unknown, Capitol,
Rome
In every line a supple beauty—
The restless head a little bent—
Disgust of pleasure, scorn of duty,
The unseeing eyes of discontent.
I often come to sit beside him,
This youth who passed and left no trace
Of good or ill that did betide him,
Save the disdain upon his face.

The hope of all his House, the brother


Adored, the golden-hearted son,
Whom Fortune pampered like a mother;
And then—a shadow on the sun.
Whether he followed Cæsar’s trumpet,
Or chanced the riskier game at home
To find how favor played the strumpet
In fickle politics at Rome;

Whether he dreamed a dream in Asia


He never could forget by day,
Or gave his youth to some Aspasia,
Or gamed his heritage away;
Once lost, across the Empire’s border
This man would seek his peace in vain;
His look arraigns a social order
Somehow entrammelled with his pain.

“The dice of gods are always loaded”;


One gambler, arrogant as they,
Fierce, and by fierce injustice goaded,
Left both his hazard and the play.
Incapable of compromises,
Unable to forgive or spare,
The strange awarding of the prizes
He had no fortitude to bear.

T i k d b th f f thi t i l
Tricked by the forms of things material—
The solid-seeming arch and stone,
The noise of war, the pomp imperial,
The heights and depths about a throne—
He missed, among the shapes diurnal,
The old, deep-travelled road from pain,
The thoughts of men which are eternal,
In which, eternal, men remain.

Ritratto d’ignoto; defying


Things unsubstantial as a dream—
An Empire, long in ashes lying—
His face still set against the stream.
Yes, so he looked, that gifted brother
I loved, who passed and left no trace,
Not even—luckier than this other—
His sorrow in a marble face.
Scribner’s Willa Sibert Cather
THE FIELD OF GLORY
War shook the land where Levi dwelt,
And fired the dismal wrath he felt,
That such a doom was ever wrought
As his, to toil while others fought;
To toil, to dream—and still to dream,
With one day barren as another;
To consummate, as it would seem,
The dry despair of his old mother.

Far off one afternoon began


The sound of man destroying man;
And Levi, sick with nameless rage,
Condemned again his heritage,
And sighed for scars that might have come,
And would, if once he could have sundered
Those harsh, inhering claims of home
That held him while he cursed and wondered.

Another day, and then there came,


Rough, bloody, ribald, hungry, lame,
But yet themselves, to Levi’s door,
Two remnants of the day before.
They laughed at him and what he sought;
They jeered him, and his painful acre;
But Levi knew that they had fought,
And left their manners to their Maker.

That night, for the grim widow’s ears,


With hopes that hid themselves in fears,
He told of arms, and featly deeds,
Whereat one leaps the while he reads,
And said he’d be no more a clown,
While others drew the breath of battle.
The mother looked him up and down,
And laughed—a scant laugh with a rattle.

Sh t ld hi h t h f d t t ll
She told him what she found to tell,
And Levi listened, and heard well
Some admonitions of a voice
That left him no cause to rejoice.
He sought a friend, and found the stars,
And prayed aloud that they should aid him;
But they said not a word of wars,
Or of a reason why God made him.

And who’s of this or that estate


We do not wholly calculate,
When baffling shades that shift and cling
Are not without their glimmering;
When even Levi, tired of faith,
Beloved of none, forgot by many,
Dismissed as an inferior wraith,
Reborn may be as great as any.
The Outlook Edwin Arlington Robinson
RICH MAN, POOR MAN—

Oh, joy that burns in Denver tavern!


The lights, the drink, the ceaseless play!
A kingdom, dull within a cavern,
Across the boards he flings away.

Then night that falls on either mountain


(Ah, bitter black it falls between);
But he, like water to its fountain,
Is come again where life runs clean.

So Death shall find him, delving, peering.


Still silver rock, still golden sand.
He weeps to hear the magpies’ jeering,
But he is back in his own land.
Lippincott’s Francis Hill
THE SIN EATER

I
Hark ye! Hush ye! Margot’s dead!
Hush! Have done wi’ your brawling tune!
Danced, she did, till the stars grew pale;
Mother o’ God, an’ she’s gone at noon!
Sh-h ... d’ye hear me?—Margot’s dead!
Sickened an’ drooped an’ died in an hour!
(Bring me th’ milk an’ th’ meat an’ bread.)
Drooped, she did, like a wilted flower.
Come an’ look at her, how she lies,
Little an’ lone, and like she’s scared....
(She lost her beads last Friday week,
Tore her Book, an’ she never cared.)...
Eh, my lass, but it’s winter, now—
You that ever was meant for June,
Your laughing mouth an’ your dancing feet—
An’ now you’re done, like an ended tune.
Where’s that woman? Ah, give it me quick,
Food at her head an’ her poor, still feet....
There’s plenty, fool! D’ye think the wench
Had so many sins for himself to eat?
Take up your cloak an’ hand me mine....
Are we fetchin’ him? Eh, for sure!
An’ you’ll come with me for all your quakes,
Clear to his cave across the moor!
—Margot, dearie, don’t look so scared,
It’s no long while till your peace begins!
What if you tore your Book, poor lamb?
I’m bringin’ you one will eat your sins!

II
It’s a blood-red sun that’s sinkin’....
Ohooo, but the marshland’s drear!
Woman, for why will you be shrinkin’?
I’m tellin’ you there’s nought to fear.
What if the twilight’s gloomish
An’ th’ shadows creep an’ crawl?—
Woman, woman, here’ll be th’ cave!
Stand by me close till I call!
“Sin Eater! Devil Cheater!”
(Eh, it echoes hollowly!)
“Margot’s dead at Willow Farm!
Shroud your face and follow me!”

III

One o’ th’ clock ... two o’ th’ clock....


This night’s a week in span!
Still he crouches by her side....
Devil ... ghost ... or man?...

IV
Woman, never cock’s crow sounded sweet before!
Set the casement wide ajar, fasten back the door!
Eh, but I be cold an’ stiff, waitin’ for th’ dawn;
Fetch me flowers—jessamine—see, the food is gone....
Light enough to see her now.... Mary! How her face
Shines on us like altar fires, now she’s sure o’ grace!
Never mind your Book, my lamb, never mind your beads,
There’s th’ Gleam before you now, follow where it leads.

Tearful peace and gentle grief


Brood on Willow Farm:
Margot, sleeping in her flowers,
Smiles, secure from harm:
In a cave across the moor,
Dank and dark within,
Moans the trafficker in souls,
Freshly bowed with sin.
Smart Set Ruth Comfort Mitchell
NIGHT-SENTRIES
Ever as sinks the day on sea or land,
Called or uncalled, you take your kindred posts.
At helm and lever, wheel and switch, you stand,
On the world’s wastes and melancholy coasts.
Strength to the patient hand!
To all, alert and faithful in the night,
May there be Light!

Now roars the wrenching train along the dark;


How many watchers guard the barren way
In signal-towers, at stammering keys, to mark
The word the whispering horizons say!
To all that see and hark—
To all, alert and faithful in the night,
May there be Light!

On ruthless streets, on byways sad with sin—


Half-hated by the blinded ones you guard—
Guard well, lest crime unheeded enter in!
The dark is cruel and the vigil hard,
The hours of guilt begin.
To all, alert and faithful in the night,
May there be Light!

Now storms the pulsing hull adown the sea:


Gaze onward, anxious eyes, to mist or star!
Where foams the heaving highway blank and free?
Where wait the reef, the berg, the cape, the bar?
Whatever menace be,
To all, alert and faithful in the night,
May there be Light!

Now the surf-rumble rides the midnight wind,


And grave patrols are on ocean edge.
Now soars the rocket where the billows grind,
Discerned too late, on sunken shoal or ledge.
T ll th t k d fi d
To all that seek and find,
To all, alert and faithful in the night,
May there be Light!

On lonely headlands gleam the lamps that warn,


Star-steady, or ablink like dragon-eyes.
Govern your rays, or wake the giant horn
Within the fog that welds the sea and skies!
Far distant runs the morn:
To all, alert and faithful in the night,
May there be Light!

Now glow the lesser lamps in rooms of pain,


Where nurse and doctor watch the joyless breath,
Drawn in a sigh, and sighing lost again.
Who waits without the threshold, Life or Death?
Reckon you loss or gain?
To all, alert and faithful in the night,
May there be Light!

Honor to you that guard our welfare now!


To you that constant in the past have stood!
To all by whom the future shall avow
Unconquerable fortitude and good!
Upon the sleepless brow
Of each, alert and faithful in the night,
May there be Light!
Harper’s George Sterling
THE SWORDLESS CHRIST
Vicisti, Galilee
Aye, down the years, behold, he rides,
The lowly Christ, upon an ass;
But conquering? Ten shall heed the call,
A thousand idly watch him pass:

They watch him pass, or lightly hold


In mock lip-loyalty his name:
A thousand—were they his to lead!
But meek, without a sword, he came.

A myriad horsemen swept the field


With Attila, the whirlwind Hun:
A myriad cannon spake for him,
The silent, dread Napoleon.

For these had ready spoil to give.


Had reeking spoil for savage hands;
Slaves, and fair wives, and pillage rare:
The wealth of cities: teeming lands.

And if the world, once drunk with blood,


Sated, has turned from arms to peace,
Man hath not lost his ancient lusts;
The weapons change; war doth not cease.

The mother in the stifling den,


The brain-dulled child beside the loom,
The hordes that swarm and toil and starve,
We laugh, and tread them to their doom.

They shriek, and cry their prayers to Christ;


And lift wan faces, hands that bleed:
In vain they pray, for what is Christ?
A leader—without men to lead.

Ah, piteous Christ, afar he rides:


We see him, but the face is dim.
We see him, but the face is dim.
We, that would leap at crash of drums,
Are slow to rise and follow him.
The Forum Percy Adams Hutchison
WHAT OF THE NIGHT?
What of the night
And the eventual silences?
Art thou not cold with the knowledge of decay
And the uncompromising reaches of the earth?
What of the night
When the tune falters and the blood chills?
When thou art one with the grass
And the underbrush of the world,
Wilt thou forget the names of flowers,
The rhythm of song and the lips, still balmy with the breasts of
women?
When thou and the fog on the hilltop are as brother and sister,
Wilt thou forget utterly the ways of men,
The clash of swords and the sting of wine,
The dim horizons and the grace of girls?
When thou art alone eternally
What of the night?

Where will God be


When thou art swathed in silence;
When the wreckage of dreams has crushed thee
And the lust for springtimes dissolved thee?
Wilt thou have visions only of the dawn
And autumn sunsets?
Will the memory of women’s faces haunt thy grave?
Will the odor of blue flowers find thy dust?
When thou art choking on the calm indifference of youth
And the everlasting beauty of trees,
Wilt thou dream only of the June,
The love of women and the great democracy of men?

When thou hast fought and failed,


And thy brow has withered laurelless,
And thy name has been effaced by the insatiable winds,
And thou hast gone out at the Western gate
To join the laggards of the dead,
j gg ,
Wilt thou crave only the withheld success,
The transitory fame of twilight years?
Will thy soul cry out only for the song,
The red dawn and the glad triumph of love?

Wilt thou indeed forget the days of pain,


The ineffectual prayers,
The lies of time and the bitterness of defeat?
Or, remembering these things,
Wilt thou forget the hands of women and the rude love of men,
And be glad of thy dark quietude?

When thou art part of the impending gloom,


I deem that life will seem to thee
In no such wise,—
But rather thou wilt dream it as a whole;
Not as a song, nor yet a broken bell;
But all that thou hast been—the great tears,
The rain, the kisses and the flutes,
The old sorrows and the hills at dawn,
Much laughter and much grief and the stern fight.
And thou shalt know how all of life is gain—
The gold of youth, the gray defeat of age—
How in the soul’s inharmony there lies
The incoherent unity of things.
The Forum Willard Huntington Wright
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