We shall not forget them; why should pylons raise
Mute appeal for reverence, rememb'rance and regret?
Spectral cold in early dawn, and rosy flushed at eve,
A warning and a promising -- we shall not forget.
We shall not forget them; though we be forgot,
We who blazed the trails of Hell from Souchez to the crest;
We who saw the gloaming creep that night across the ridge,
Who hollowed out the ancient chalk, and laid them to their rest.
We shall not forget them; we who saw the dawn
Shining cold on St. Eloi, where old wars linger yet;
Roman, Frank, and Spanish swords had rusted long ago,
Where our comrades' blades were piled; we shall not forget.
We shall not forget them; we who yearly come
Must'ring at the cenotaphs to call the roll again;
Closing tattered ranks again to hear the parson pray,
Sighing envy out to them, when all hope is vain.
We shall not regret them; Life to them was kind,
A coursing swift and eager 'twixt boyhood and the grave;
Reck they not of faith betrayed, or ken that profiteers
Ravish from the altar flame the offerings they gave.
We can not forget them, would we could forget!
Cast them to the limbo of the long-forgotten things.
The shibboleths they perished for, the Freedom of their dreams,
The honour they went surety for, the promises of kings.
We cannot forget them; soon they'll be forgot.
Patience grant, good gentlemen, our ranks are thinning fast.
Ye may loot our pensions safely when tattoo has beat for us;
We need just a little longer; we'll forget at last.
We shall soon be with them; these our last bequests;
Unto our sons, by grace of God, the youth we never knew;
To Canada, our faith she spurned, our bodies broke for her;
And -- the judgement of the people on those who grudged our due!
Notes
Vimy - Referring to the famous Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 9-12, 1917. The British gave the Canadians control of the battle plans for the first time, to fantastic success. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge
Souchez : Souchez is a commune of northern France, in the département of Pas-de-Calais. Population (1999): 2,200.
One finds there the military cemeteries of the Commonwealth Zouave Valley Cemetery and Red Cabaret, as well as the European Center of the Peace, which presents in particular a collection of objects of the First World War.
St Eloi : St Eloi lies on the road running south from Ypres in the direction of Messines. Here, an awkward salient poked into British positions and was on slightly higher ground - including an artificial earth bank called "The Mound" - that gave the Germans excellent observation over British trenches and roads.
~ www.1914-1918.net/bat14_3.htm
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
-
Vimy
I grew up in Vimy Ridge, Arkansas (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=34.60015,-92.413559&spn=0.131974,0.2314&z=12&om=1)
Prior to WWI it was named Germania due to the large number of Germans who had settled there. But the stigma that had been place on being of German descent at that time prompted the settlers to adopt the name Vimy Ridge to show they had no loyalty to Germany. -
Mighty victories were gained by thousands of individual sacrifices in this and every war. As Burnett says
We cannot forget them; soon they'll be forgot.
Adding your comment:
