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! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FRAGMENTARY BLUE by ROBERT FROST PLACE FOR A THIRD by ROBERT FROST THE REVEALER by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE RAND MCNALLY ATLAS by KAREN SWENSON A FAREWELL TO TOBACCO by CHARLES LAMB TO A CHILD OF QUALITY, FIVE YEARS OLD. THE AUTHOR THAN FORTY by MATTHEW PRIOR |