What does our soldier bring from war? So much we cannot covet more: Acclaim of victor, both by those His victor-comrades, and his foes; A sword with bay and myrtle wreathed, In honor drawn, in honor sheathed; The love of children who intone His country's anthem with their own; The gratitude of many a land Whose tongue he ne'er shall understand; The prayers of alien knees that bend In faiths he cannot comprehend; And benedictions that shall be Bequeathed to far posterity By those who feel, but do not know, What they to the Great Rescue owe. These are the spoils he bears: what more Could knightly soldier bring from war? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FREQUENTLY by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS PRESCIENCE by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH |