<html xmlns:tei="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0"><body><h1 align="center" class="head">The Dead Soldier</h1><div class="stanza"><p class="line"><span class="smallcaps">Thy</span> dear brown eyes which were as depths where truth</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Lay bowered with frolic joy, but yesterday</p><p class="line">Shone with the fire of thy so guileless youth,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Now ruthless death has dimmed and closed for aye.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Those sweet red lips, that never knew the stain</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Of angry words or harsh, or thoughts unclean,</p><p class="line">Have sung their last gay song. Never again</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Shall I the harvest of their laughter glean.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">The goodly harvest of thy laughing mouth</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Is garnered in; and lo! the golden grain</p><p class="line">Of all thy generous thoughts, which knew no drouth</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Of meanness, and thy tender words remain</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Stored in my heart; and though I may not see</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Thy peerless form nor hear thy voice again,</p><p class="line">The memory lives of what thou wast to me,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">We knew great love.... We have not lived in vain.</p></div><p class="byline">-- Sydney Oswald.<br xmlns:exist="http://exist.sourceforge.net/NS/exist" xmlns:html="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"/> (Major, King's Royal Rifle Corps.)</p></body></html> · Great War