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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


OLD TREES by ABRAM JOSEPH RYAN

First Line: OLD TREES, OLD TREES! IN YOUR MYSTIC GLOOM
Last Line: "OLD TREES, TO GUARD ""OUR DEAD""."
Subject(s): TREES;

Old trees, old trees! in your mystic gloom
There's many a warrior laid,
And many a nameless and lonely tomb
Is sheltered beneath your shade.
Old trees, old trees! without pomp or prayer
We buried the brave and the true,
We fired a volley and left them there
To rest, old trees, with you.

Old trees, old trees! keep watch and ward
Over each grass-grown bed;
'Tis a glory, old trees, to stand as guard
Over the Southern dead;
Old trees, old trees! we shall pass away
Like the leaves you yearly shed,
But ye, lone sentinels, still must stay,
Old trees, to guard "our dead".





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