They marched away, those boys in brown, Long years ago when life was new; Gay cherry blossoms decked the town, And deep drums beat, and bugles blew. Their loved ones watched them march away, Nor dared to think of days to come: Who should return or who should stay When faces turned once more to home? They marched away and bravely fought, That tyranny and wars should cease; With myriad lives they dearly bought What then was deemed a lasting peace. Shall they have given all in vain? Shall other mothers, sisters, wives, Be doomed through years to hear again The sound of taps for broken lives? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WHEN I'M KILLED by ROBERT RANKE GRAVES SEVEN TIMES ONE [- CHILDHOOD. EXULTATION] by JEAN INGELOW SONNET: 10 by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY ALASTOR; OR, THE SPIRIT OF SOLITUDE by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY EYE-SHAPED, MOUTH-SHAPED by MARGARET AHO AN UNTIMELY THOUGHT by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH TWO SONNETS: 2 by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) |