Page:Poems Laflin.djvu/18

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That night as we stood in the moonlight,
She gave me a packet rare,
'Twas a faded bunch of forget-me-nots
And a lock of her golden hair.

For four long years I fought for the right,
Four years had I heard the cannon's roar,
Four years had I seen men fight and die,
Stretching stiff limbs to rise no more.

In the fires I saw her face
Gazing tenderly at me,
And her deep love made me bold,
Urged me on to victory.

When the cruel war was over,
Slowly had those four years passed,
Then I knew with joy unbounded
I'd be home again at last.

Where was she I loved so dearly?
Why was she not there to meet me?
Where was the merry voice I knew?
Why did it not gladly greet me?

In a corner of the churchyard,
Where the pitying weeping willow
Droops its gentle arms above her,
Where the earth is now her pillow.

Though the mortal dust of Margaret
Lies there with the silent dead,
Her spirit to the God that gave it
Has returned, by angels led.

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