Sunday, May 26, 2024. During this morning’s worship at The National Cathedral in Washington, DC, the choir sang a verse of Laurence Binyon’s poem, “For The Fallen.” In this poem the narrator honors the British soldiers who died in World War I.
The poem acknowledges the profound loss of the soldiers’ lives and emphasizes the selflessness of their patriotic devotion.
Dying for one’s country and the ideals of freedom, Laurence Binyon implies, is the ultimate act of patriotism.
The poem also gives tribute and thanks for the sacrifices made by their families. Binyon’s compelling words celebrates the sacrifices of the soldiers and the lifelong grief of families that went beyond ordinary limitations.
For The Fallen
Laurence Binyon, 1869-1943
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death August and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to battle
They were young,
Strength of limb, true of eye, steady
and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against
Odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall not grow old, as we that
are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the
years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in
the morning
We will remember them,
They mingle not with their laughing
comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of
home;
They have no lot in our labour of the
daytime;
They sleep beyond England’s foam.
But where our desires are and our
hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden
from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own
land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when
we are dust,
Moving in marches across the heavenly
plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time
of our darkness,
to the end, to the end, they remain.
With special thanks to Emma Baldwin for her analysis of For The Fallen
In Memoriam
S/Sgt. Leroy Burell January 19, 1922 October 10, 1944
Pvt. Thomas Earl Wyse 1895- November 11, 1947
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