BW21: Memorial Day

 

Memorial Day

By

Clara Ann Thompson

Go;—for ’tis Memorial morning—

Go with hearts of peace and love;

Deck the graves of fallen soldiers;

Go, your gratitude to prove.

Gather flow’rs and take them thither,

Emblem of a nation’s tears;

Grateful hearts cannot forget them,

In the rush of passing years.

Strew the flow’rs above their couches;

Let thy heart’s affection blend,

With the dewy buds and blossoms,

That in fragrant showers descend.

Strew the flow’rs above the heroes,

Slain for loving friends and thee;

Canst thou find a better off’ring,

For those sons of liberty?

While the buds and blooms are falling,

Earnest hearts are asking,—Why—

In a tone, though low and gentle,

Yet, as ardent as a cry,—

‘Why must precious lives be given,

That our country may be free?

Is there not a nobler pathway

To the throne of liberty?

‘Can we choose no nobler watch-word,

Than the ringing battle-cry,

Harbinger of strife and bloodshed,

Must we sin, that sin may die?

‘Long ago, to far Judea,

Came the blessed Prince of Peace:

Shall we ever heed His teaching,

That these wars and feuds may cease?’