Page:The poems of Edmund Clarence Stedman, 1908.djvu/238

POEMS OF OCCASION That weapon when he drew,

Back rolled the wrath of men,—

Their onset feebler grew,

The Nation rose again.

The splendor and the fame—

Whisper of these alone,

Nor say that round his name

A moment's shade was thrown;

Count not each satellite

'Twixt him and glory's sun,

The circling things of night;

Number his battles won.

Where then to choose his grave?

From mountain unto sea,

The Land he fought to save

His sepulchre shall be.

Yet to its fruitful earth

His quickening ashes lend,

That chieftains may have birth,

And patriots without end.

His carven scroll shall read:

Here rests the valiant heart

Whose duty was his creed,—

Whose lot, the warrior's part.

Who, when the fight was done,

The grim last foe defied,

Naught knew save victory won,

Surrendered not—but died.

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