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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AFTER TWENTY YEARS by OLLIE BARNES DAYTON

First Line: THEY MARCHED AWAY THOSE BOYS IN BROWN
Last Line: THE SOUND OF TAPS FOR BROKEN LIVES?
Subject(s): WAR;
They marched away, those boys in brown,
Long years ago when life was new;
Gay cherry blossoms decked the town,
And deep drums beat, and bugles blew.

Their loved ones watched them march away,
Nor dared to think of days to come:
Who should return or who should stay
When faces turned once more to home?

They marched away and bravely fought,
That tyranny and wars should cease;
With myriad lives they dearly bought
What then was deemed a lasting peace.

Shall they have given all in vain?
Shall other mothers, sisters, wives,
Be doomed through years to hear again
The sound of taps for broken lives?



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