Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ODE: FOR THE GREENFIELD SOLDIERS MOMUMENT, by FREDERICK GODDARD TUCKERMAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ODE: FOR THE GREENFIELD SOLDIERS MOMUMENT, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: This slender spire of glossy stone
Last Line: The gleaming shaft! The eagle bird!
Subject(s): Monuments


This slender spire of glossy stone,
A nation's emblem poised above,
Speaks it to bleeding hearts alone?
Ensign of sorrow and of love?

Or here, upon this village green,
In half-light of the autumn day,
Meet we to mourn for what has been,
A tale, a triumph passed away?

Yes, more: our gift is generous
As theirs who gave their lifeblood free;
Not to the dead alone, to us
Ourselves, and ours that yet shall be

We consecrate for distant years--
No idle rite, our deep hearts stirred,
And tenderly, with prayers and tears--
The gleaming shaft! the Eagle bird!





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