OUT of the furthest Eastward
A cry through the Gates of Dawn,
Borne to the ears of the dreamers
Ere the pallid stars have gone.
The song of forgotten heroes
Of unavailing fight,
Heard in the ghastly hush of sleep,
In the shadow of Death and Night.
The dead who died for honour,
Who sought not the victors’ bays,
Preferring the thorns of sacrifice
To the fruits of ignoble days.
The dead who died on the waters.
Ah, sound and sweet they sleep!
Who gave their lives for the love of men
And their souls to the God of the deep.
The dead who died in battle,
Trusted and true and tried,
Heading the ranks of a hope forlorn,
By a great cause sanctified.
The dead, the eager searchers,
With daring sails unfurled,
Whose blood is their seal and charter
In the far, waste ends of the world.
These are the men who sing it,
In the shadow of Death and Night,
This song of forgotten heroes
Of unavailing fight.
THE KING’S BRIDE
THIS is the King’s Bride,
Wonderful to behold,
Wearing in calm pride
Raiment of vair and gold.
Once in a thousand years,
Out of Eden Bower,
Her peerless like appears,
Fresh as a perfect flower.