Men lied to them and so they went to die Some fell, unknowing that they were deceived, And some escaped, and bitterly bereaved, Beheld the truth they loved shrink to a lie And those there were that never had believed, But from afar had read the gathering sky, And darkly wrapt in that dread prophecy Died trusting that their truth might be retrieved. It matters not. For life deals thus with Man; To die alone deceived or with the mass, Or disillusioned to complete his span. Thermopylae or Golgotha, all one -- The young dead legions in the narrow pass; The stark black cross against the setting sun. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DEEP IN THE QUIET WOOD by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 58. AL-MUHSI by EDWIN ARNOLD SCARABAEUS SISYPHUS by MATHILDE BLIND AN EPITAPH ON MR.WM. HOPTON by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) EXTEMPORANEOUS EFFUSION by ROBERT BURNS |