Monday, May 30, 2016

WKRLEM: The Rouge Bouquet


In a wood they call the Rouge Bouquet
There is a new-made grave to-day,
Built by never a spade nor pick
Yet covered with earth ten metres thick.
There lie many fighting men,
Dead in their youthful prime,
Never to laugh nor love again
Nor taste the Summertime.
For Death came flying through the air
And stopped his flight at the dugout stair,
Touched his prey and left them there,
Clay to clay.
He hid their bodies stealthily
In the soil of the land they fought to free
And fled away.
Now over the grave abrupt and clear
Three volleys ring;
And perhaps their brave young spirits hear
The bugle sing:
“Go to sleep!
Go to sleep!
Slumber well where the shell screamed and fell.
Let your rifles rest on the muddy floor,
You will not need them any more.
Danger’s past;
Now at last,
Go to sleep!”
There is on earth no worthier grave
To hold the bodies of the brave
Than this place of pain and pride
Where they nobly fought and nobly died.
Never fear but in the skies
Saints and angels stand
Smiling with their holy eyes
On this new-come band.
St. Michael’s sword darts through the air
And touches the aureole on his hair
As he sees them stand saluting there,
His stalwart sons;
And Patrick, Brigid, Columkill
Rejoice that in veins of warriors still
The Gael’s blood runs.
And up to Heaven’s doorway floats,
From the wood called Rouge Bouquet
A delicate cloud of bugle notes
That softly say:
“Farewell!
Farewell!
Comrades true, born anew, peace to you!
Your souls shall be where the heroes are
And your memory shine like the morning-star.
Brave and dear,
Shield us here.
Farewell!”

2 comments:

Leland said...

I heard about the Roots remake, but as I wasn't interested in the original or the book; I wasn't interested in remake either. Move along, I only have so much time. Then I see a news thing about Snoop Dogg. I agree with him:

Snoop said he has no interest in new shows and movies — specifically mentioning 12 Years a Slave — that "keep showing the abuse we took hundreds and hundreds of years ago."

"I ain't watching that shit, and I advise you motherf-—ers as real n— like myself; f— them television shows," Snoop said. "Let's create our own shit based on today, how we live and how we inspire people today. Black is what's real. F— that old shit."


Perhaps it is right for the History Channel to be showing this history, but I don't need to relive it.

edutcher said...

If you look at the Pacific, Korea is a knife at the throat of Japan, much in the same way Ireland is for Britain.

When the plans for Downfall and Liquidator (the reduction of the Japanese Army still in Asia), the US 10th Army, commanded by Joe Stilwell, was assigned Korea.