 | Poems of home and country |  |
MEMORIAL HONORS.
Grateful, the pious feast we keep
In memory of the dead;
And, where the valiant soldiers sleep,
Strew honors o'er their bed.
In memory of the dead;
And, where the valiant soldiers sleep,
Strew honors o'er their bed.
As spring-flowers deck the silent earth,
As stars the skies illume,
These loving tributes, lo! we bring
To grace each hallowed tomb.
As stars the skies illume,
These loving tributes, lo! we bring
To grace each hallowed tomb.
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The land they saved their honor keeps,
While dark oppression cowers;
And every tear affection weeps
Is crystalled into flowers.
While dark oppression cowers;
And every tear affection weeps
Is crystalled into flowers.
The deeds they wrought; the truths they sealed;
Their memory, dear in death,—
Are fragrant as the blooming field,
Or summer's perfumed breath!
Their memory, dear in death,—
Are fragrant as the blooming field,
Or summer's perfumed breath!
God of the living and the dead,
Like amaranths on the tomb,
The trust for which their blood was shed
Keep in immortal bloom.
Like amaranths on the tomb,
The trust for which their blood was shed
Keep in immortal bloom.
| Poems of home and country | |