Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A NAMELESS GRAVE; SONNET, by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW


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A NAMELESS GRAVE; SONNET, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: A soldier of the union mustered out'
Last Line: And I can give thee nothing in return.
Subject(s): American Civil War; United States - History


"A soldier of the Union mustered out,"
Is the inscription on an unknown grave
At Newport News, beside the salt-sea wave,
Nameless and dateless; sentinel or scout
Shot down in skirmish, or disastrous rout
Of battle, when the loud artillery drave
Its iron wedges through the ranks of brave
And doomed battalions, storming the redoubt.
Thou unknown hero sleeping by the sea
In thy forgotten grave! with secret shame
I feel my pulses beat, my forehead burn,
When I remember thou hast given for me
All that thou hadst, thy life, thy very name,
And I can give thee nothing in return.







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