In Memory of an American Soldier

He went singing down to death;And the high Gods, who heard him,Gave something of their breathTo the melodies that stirred him;Lending some accents to his dying songThat only to abiding things belong.

His boyish heart had laughedFor joy of life's completeness—Life had so brimmed the draughtIt held for him with sweetness;But when, unlooked for, came the suppliant cryFrom tortured Lands, he put the full cup by.

Happy whose soul has wingsAnd has the strength to spread them!Happy whose heart still bringsIts dreams where truth first led them!Though he give all, his fellow men to save,He has a tryst with Life, beyond the grave!

Blithely he took the pathAppointed him by Duty,Whose face, viewed nearer, hathSuch deeps undreamed of beauty,—Love, hope, ambition—he put all aside,And for the things that do not perish, died.········Soul, was it tragedy to fall like this?Oh, lovely, lovely, lovely, courage is!And death itself may be most sweet,Though the lips thirst, and empty be the cup,If won in climbing—climbing up—and up,To heights where vision and fulfilment meet:If won at last, by deeds that glorifyOur lowly dust, where 'neath an alien sky,Their service unforgot,They sleep who, loving greatly, faltered not,—The happy brave, who never knew defeat!