“LOST LEADERS”
I
“Lost leaders”—no, they are not lost
Like shrunken leaves the wild wind tost.
Them only shall we mourn who failed;
When came the fight—who faltered, quailed.
II
Raged not through blood and battle grime
These heroes of our land and time;
The foes they fought, with dauntless deed,
Were shameless vice and maddened greed.
III
Not lost, not lost the noble dead—
By them our doubting feet are led.
Stars of our dark, sun of our day,
They guide, they light the climbing way.
IV
And if, in their celestial flight,
The mist hath hid those forms from sight,
Still, down the stormy path, we hear
Their hero-voices ringing clear.
V
Who for their fellows live and die,
They the immortals are. O sigh
Not for their loss, but rather praise
The God that gave them to our days.
