11th November 2023
We shall remember
For the Fallen
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 the battle, they were young
Straight 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 grow not 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 day-time
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 know
As stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
by Laurence Binyon, 1869-1943