Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE BELLS OF PEACE, by JOHN GALSWORTHY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BELLS OF PEACE, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Lilies are here, tall in the garden bed
Last Line: Our dreaming dead of all they died to win!
Alternate Author Name(s): Sinjohn, John
Subject(s): Peace


LILIES are here, tall in the garden bed,
And on the moor are still the buds of May;
Roses are here -- and, tolling for our dead
The Bells of Peace make summer holiday.

And do they hear, who in their Springtime went?
The young, the brave young, leaving all behind,
All of their fate, love, laughter, and content,
The village sweetness, and the Western wind,

Leaving the quiet trees and the cattle red,
The southern soft mist over granite tor --
Whispered from home, by secret valour led
To face the horror that their souls abhor.

Here in the starlight, to the owl's "To-whoo!"
They wandered once, they wander still, maybe,
Dreaming of home, clinging the long night thro'
To sound and sight fastened in memory.

Here in the sunlight and the bracken green --
Wild happy roses starring every lane --
Eager to reach the good that might have been,
They were at peace. Are they at peace again?

Bells of remembrance, on this summer's eve
Of our relief, Peace and Goodwill ring in!
Ring out the Past, and let not Hate bereave
Our dreaming Dead of all they died to win!





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net