BY ANNIE M. TOOHEY.
Some one shall find them wherever they lie,
Some one shall trace them wherever they sleep,
Under the blue of the sheltering sky,
Shaded by willow or down in the deep!
Time cannot hide them away in its maze—
Loved ones we lost in the long, long ago,
Heroes who sank in the blood crimsoned days,
Wounded and scarred in the battles of woe.
Some one shall over them scatter sweet flowers,
Some one shall 'round them a banner enfold,
Where they are resting on earth's sunny bowers,
Where the deep waters their ashes still hold.
Comrades who marched with them once, side by side,
Wrinkled and bent, cannot kneel o'er their dust;
Still shall their dim eyes with teardrops of pride
Smile upon sabres that bleam thro' their rust.
Some one shall weep o'er a soldier-cap blue;
Some one shall grieve o'er a uniform gray,
Worn by a hero so noble and true,
Left by some mother's boy fell'd in the fray.
Remnants of glory! tho' faded they be
Still they are treasures we tenderly hold,
Never, oh! never, may loyal eyes see
Gathered around them oblivion's sad mold!
Some one shall linger in voicing a prayer;
Some one shall hearken at fading of day
For the rapt strains that awake over there—
Rustle of angel-wings nearing earth's way,
Coming to waft all the flowers so sweet
Tender hands scattered o'er hillside and wave,
Unto yon ranks and the beautiful fleet
Gleaming in triumph with souls of the brave!
Watervliet, N. Y.
Troy Daily Times May 31, 1902
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