Death of a Soldier ....

Those of us who have kin or kith who were - are soldiers know how painful it is when we lose them in a tour of duty.  Love for country  .... is our country worth it?
i hope it is.

this sums up my thoughts on the matter ....
This is a poem with the title "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Click here for the poem and read the remarks so you know why i thought of this poem


reproduced below as tribute for those who died

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

---

1. Half a league, half a league,  Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death  Rode the six hundred. "Forward, the Light Brigade! "Charge for the guns!" he said: Into the valley of Death  Rode the six hundred. 2. "Forward, the Light Brigade!" Was there a man dismay'd? Not tho' the soldier knew  Someone had blunder'd: Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die: Into the valley of Death  Rode the six hundred. 3. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them  Volley'd and thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell, Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell  Rode the six hundred. 4. Flash'd all their sabres bare, Flash'd as they turn'd in air, Sabring the gunners there, Charging an army, while  All the world wonder'd: Plunged in the battery-smoke Right thro' the line they broke; Cossack and Russian Reel'd from the sabre stroke  Shatter'd and sunder'd. Then they rode back, but not  Not the six hundred. 5. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them  Volley'd and thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so well Came thro' the jaws of Death Back from the mouth of Hell, All that was left of them,  Left of six hundred. 6. When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made!  All the world wondered. Honor the charge they made, Honor the Light Brigade,  Noble six hundred.

Part of one of my favorite poems, Jabberwocky -  one of very few i have memorized

i have my own concept of a Jabberwocky and all those lovely works

what about you?

Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe. 

Lewis Carroll

Do you use "chortle" or "galumph" in your speech? They are part of the English language thanks to Lewis Carroll (born January 27, 1871)—both words appeared in his nonsense poem, Jabberwocky.

Rage, Rage, againt the dying of the light - one of the poems that SAY something

this quote from dylan is certainly evocative of these times
indeed, the dying of the light is a phenomenon very special to the philippines
and particular in one government institution i shall call  Estres

well, in Estres, morale is at an all-time low, the light in the employees' eyes are dying
and well, their leader does not give a sh*t  nor a f*ck

AND well, it seems that the condition of the world is mostly like this -
i am glad that there are organizations that DO care, and DO give a da*n


For your convenience, here's the poem

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

BY DYLAN THOMAS

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,   

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” from The Poems of Dylan Thomas. Copyright 1939, 1946 by New Directions Publishing Corporation. Reprinted with the permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.

Here's my source

Dylan's Poem

One of My Fave Poems - Kipling's The 1000th Man

Kipling is one of my favorite artist.  Rikki-tikki-tavi is a character i adore.
for Trekkers or fans of  Classic Trek (TOS, that is), Kirk says this about Spock

and you, do you have your thousandth man?

click here for the poem from which this was taken, reproduced here for easy reading


The Thousandth Man

---

0NE man in a thousand, Solomon says.
Will stick more close than a brother.
And it's worth while seeking him half your days
If you find him before the other. Nine hundred and ninety-nine depend
On what the world sees in you,
But the Thousandth Man will stand your friend
With the whole round world agin you.
'Tis neither promise nor prayer nor show
Will settle the finding for 'ee.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em go
By your looks, or your acts, or your glory.
But if he finds you and you find him,
The rest of the world don't matter;
For the Thousandth Man will sink or swim
With you in any water.
You can use his purse with no more talk
Than he uses yours for his spendings,
And laugh and meet in your daily walk
As though there had been no lendings.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine of 'em call
For silver and gold in their dealings;
But the Thousandth Man he's worth 'em all
Because you can show him your feelings.
His wrong's your wrong, and his right's your right,
In season or out of season.
Stand up and back it in all men's sight
With that for your only reason!
Nine hundred and ninety-nine can't bide
The shame or mocking or laughter,
But the Thousandth Man will stand by your side
To the gallows-foot - and after!

---

Happy Hearts today

Happy V!

i wish to share this poem with all of you,
it tells us to take the time to watch the grass grow and smell that extraordinary smell of freshly mowed grass

strangely enough i first read it in one of those romance novels i read before i sleep
it goes

What is this life, if full of care

we have no time to stand and stare.

the full text of the poem is reproduced here - but you can click below for the website

Leisure
by William Henry Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.


Click here for the website poem by William Henry Davies