Hush'd be the Camps To-day
As we hear so much these days about the death of one president, I am reminded of Walt Whitman's reflections on the death of another.
HUSH'D be the camps to-day;
And, soldiers, let us drape our war-worn weapons;
And each with musing soul retire, to celebrate,
Our dear commander's death.
No more for him life's stormy conflicts; Nor victory, nor defeat--no more time's dark events, Charging like ceaseless clouds across the sky.
But sing, poet, in our name; Sing of the love we bore him--because you, dweller in camps, know it truly.
As they invault the coffin there; Sing--as they close the doors of earth upon him--one verse, For the heavy hearts of soldiers.
With compliments,
Keith