HOW SLEEP THE BRAVE

New Zealand Tablet, 29 May 1919, Page 39

HOW SLEEP THE BRAVE

Plain white crosses, row on row, '■/'? Across the silent hill- they go ; Here lie the friends, and there the foe, - Near to the gentle river; ' ; Their graves fare red when poppies grow In summer; and white with winter’s snow, But they lie-in close-ranked lines below, And they lie in peace for ever. “ . ■>. \ . . With the dewy morn come the bugle-notes Poured from t a hundred golden throats, And over their 'graves-the' reveille floats - ° Of the larks, but ’tis 1 thrilled in vain For sleep is sweet when a hero dies, ‘ And sleep eternal has touched their eyes, A dreamless sleep, they shall never rise ' ' To the bugle’s call again. When the sun sinks low in the ruddy west, The farewell strains from the thrush’s nest Shall lull the sleeping heroes’ rest - • ; In a hymn to the dying day; - ifyOWf There they, lie, brave, 'dauntless/- true, Palled by the heavens’ gold and" blue, i - 3 ’ 5 And the rain shall beat a soft tattoo Where the warriors sleep ?in clay. y.IL <i*cf ? V •& , Plain white crosses, .r0w..0n.r0w..... - ■Across the silent -hill they go; 4 Here lie 4 the friends, and there the foe, M ' v <r Near to the peaceful river-; ... Their graves are red when poppies grow i In /summer, and white with winter’s snow, \ But they lie in close-ranked files below, ; .ft ! And they lie at peace for ever. ~ Sidney J. Smith, S.J., in America.