Memorial Day
We had a wonderful weekend, just family time really, although we did go to one Memorial Day Service and to church. The lasagna was great and the rice pudding too, one of my favorites. The weather was perfect, the wife was attentive. :) The kids behaved and had fun. Thank God for His blessings. So many people we talked to planned to party and/or drink the weekend away, not the original plans for the special day, I'm sure. In honor of our service men and women, here is a poem I like and wish to offer...
Dirge for a Soldier
by George H. Boker
Close his eyes; his work is done!
What to him is friend or foeman,
Rise of moon, or set of sun,
Hand of man, or kiss of woman?
Lay him low, lay him low,
In the clover or the snow!
What cares he? he can not know:
Lay him low!
As man may, he fought his fight,
Proved his truth by his endeavor;
Let him sleep in solemn night,
Sleep forever and forever.
Lay him low, lay him low,
In the clover or the snow!
What cares he? he can not know:
Lay him low!
Fold him in his country's stars,
Roll the drum and fire the volley!
What to him are all our wars,
What but death bemocking folly?
Lay him low, lay him low,
In the clover or the snow!
What cares he? he can not know:
Lay him low!
Leave him to God's watching eye,
Trust him to the hand that made him.
Mortal love weeps idly by:
God alone has power to aid him,
Lay him low, lay him low,
In the clover or the snow!
What cares he? he can not know:
Lay him low!
Dirge for a Soldier
by George H. Boker
Close his eyes; his work is done!
What to him is friend or foeman,
Rise of moon, or set of sun,
Hand of man, or kiss of woman?
Lay him low, lay him low,
In the clover or the snow!
What cares he? he can not know:
Lay him low!
As man may, he fought his fight,
Proved his truth by his endeavor;
Let him sleep in solemn night,
Sleep forever and forever.
Lay him low, lay him low,
In the clover or the snow!
What cares he? he can not know:
Lay him low!
Fold him in his country's stars,
Roll the drum and fire the volley!
What to him are all our wars,
What but death bemocking folly?
Lay him low, lay him low,
In the clover or the snow!
What cares he? he can not know:
Lay him low!
Leave him to God's watching eye,
Trust him to the hand that made him.
Mortal love weeps idly by:
God alone has power to aid him,
Lay him low, lay him low,
In the clover or the snow!
What cares he? he can not know:
Lay him low!
posted by Johnny at
4:56 PM
8 Comments:
That's pretty heavy, John. We mourn idly, and that's true, isn't it?
By
Charles, at 10:01 PM
Moving poem...
By
Jeannie, at 6:11 AM
That's a fine poem, John.
We went to see Kingdom of Heaven on Memorial Day. War is hell.
By
Hopeful, at 2:36 PM
Thank you Dana. Yes, war is hell. The poem moved me too, the part about laying them low being the final word in the sentence. I've always felt it especially bad that a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds are sent to die at the command of old white men.
By
Johnny, at 8:24 PM
I had written something about war on my blog also. I probably shouldn't have, but my husband rented Black Hawk Down and I watched it. This is the kind of stuff that is going on right now in Iraq and I just want to bring all the soldiers home and tuck them into bed and promise tomorrow will be better. What do you think about the Downing street memo? This is something that's really bothering me right now. Here's what Chuck Colson said about Felt: "I never thought anybody with such a position of sensitivity at the Justice Department would breach confidences.... A hero is someone that you want other people to emulate...and to say he was a hero because he broke his trust...he broke the confidence of the president of the United States." (CNS News) What is up with that? I think the earth needs a big black hole to crawl into.
By
bridgesitter, at 11:13 PM
I think the fact that Felt hid his activities for 30+ years speaks volumes, and he, himself, said he did not think it 'right' to leak information. I would have more respect for him if he had been open about his charges and taken his lumps or accolates then instead of now. But, others disagree.
I dont know enough about the Downing Street memo to comments so will leave that to John. :)
By
Charles, at 4:33 AM
I think the Downing Street Memo is telling; not everyone agrees.
The Downing Street Memo is a secret British intelligence memo suggesting that the Bush administration manipulated intelligence to support its case for war in Iraq.
Beyond the Downing Street Memo, other evidence indicates that the Bush administration misused intelligence. For example, as Media Matters for America has documented, accounts by Bush administration and U.N. intelligence officials and consultants, documented by CBS News, the Associated Press, and Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, indicate that the administration and CIA were aware at the time that much of the information provided in former Secretary of State Colin Powell's February 5, 2003, speech to the United Nations Security Council was suspect.
Bush worshippers just ignore such writings.
By
Johnny, at 7:19 PM
The media seems to too. I can't seem to find anything on it. I'd like to know if President Bush as commented on it. Do you know?
By
bridgesitter, at 12:58 AM
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