Re: A poem for our fallen soldiers -OT-

February 23, 2005

Marina,

That was truly amazing, thanks for sharing, Tawny

--- In , " marina_troi " <marina_troi@y...>

wrote:

>

> I was thinking about all the poems you guys write. I have written

> a good bit of poetry and stories, though I rarely share them. In

> high school, my English professor asked each of us to choose a poem

> from a list she had created. Once we made our choice, she asked us

> to read the poem, ponder it, and then write a reply to it. The

> reason I am telling you this is because the poem I decided to pick

> was " The Young Dead Soldiers " by Archibald MacLeish. As I read it,

> I felt the poem in my heart. I didn't have to think or ponder on

> this poem to know how I wanted to approach the assignment. Funny

> thing is, I though I may fail the assignment because I didn't

really

> write that much!! I actually won an award for it. I wasn't happy

> that she entered it into a poetry contest, but at the same time, I

> was glad she did. Only because it brought to light the sentiment

> this country was based on. The part I answered to in this poem

> starts or has " we say " in it. The rest is the original poem.

>

> I would like to dedicate this to all of our fallen soldiers......

> Enjoy......Marina

>

> THE YOUNG DEAD SOLDIERS...by ARCHIBALD MACLEISH

>

> The young dead soldiers do not speak.

> Nevertheless, they are heard in the still

> houses; who has not heard them?

> They have a silence that speaks for them

> at night and when the clock counts.

>

> They say: We were young. We have

> died. Remember us.

>

> We say: We are young. We are old.

> We remember.

>

> They say: We have done what we

> could but until it is finished it is not done.

>

> What could we possibly say?

>

> They say: We have given out lives but

> until it is finished no one can know

> what out lives gave.

>

> They say: Whether our lives and our

> deaths were for peace and a new

> hope or for nothing we cannot say;

> it is you who must say this.

>

> We say: Your lives were given, and for

> some taken, for peace and a new hope.

> Your work is finished and you have

> lived or died, not in vain.

>

> They say: We leave you our deaths.

> Give them their meaning. We were

> young, they say. We have died. Remember us.

>

> We say: We take your deaths and

> give them their meaning.

> We are young, we say. We are old.

> We will always remember.

February 23, 2005