 | The Poems of Richard Watson Gilder |  |
A HERO OF PEACE
IN MEMORY OF ROBERT ROSS: SHOT MARCH 6, 1894
“No bugle on the blast
Calls warriors face to face;
Grim battle being forever past,
Gone is the hero-race.”
Calls warriors face to face;
Grim battle being forever past,
Gone is the hero-race.”
Ah, no! there is no peace!
If liberty shall live,
Never may freemen dare to cease
Their love, their life to give.
If liberty shall live,
Never may freemen dare to cease
Their love, their life to give.
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Unto the patriot's heart
The silent summons comes;
Not braver he who does his part
To the sound of beating drums.
The silent summons comes;
Not braver he who does his part
To the sound of beating drums.
And thou who gavest youth,
And life, and all most dear;
Sweet soul, impassionate of truth,
White on thy murdered bier!—
And life, and all most dear;
Sweet soul, impassionate of truth,
White on thy murdered bier!—
Thy deed, thy date, thy name
Are wreathed with deathless flowers.
Thy fate shall be the guiding flame
That lights to nobler hours.
Are wreathed with deathless flowers.
Thy fate shall be the guiding flame
That lights to nobler hours.
| The Poems of Richard Watson Gilder | |