Poems (Kennedy)/Day by Day
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For works with similar titles, see Day by Day.
DAY BY DAY
NIGHTFALL, and the daytime's fierce battle
Is over and done;
Red is my sword, deep red with the carnage
Of conflicts unwon.
Is over and done;
Red is my sword, deep red with the carnage
Of conflicts unwon.
Beaten, discouraged with failure,
Forsaken, betrayed—
Yet I ask for no help and no quarter,
I yield neither banner nor blade.
Forsaken, betrayed—
Yet I ask for no help and no quarter,
I yield neither banner nor blade.
For he who is armed, though defeated,
May yet hold his post,
And a flag still unfurled is the signal
That hope is not lost.
May yet hold his post,
And a flag still unfurled is the signal
That hope is not lost.
And the night is but truce to day's struggle,
A rift in the pain;
I must keep my high place on the ramparts—
For tomorrow we fight again.
A rift in the pain;
I must keep my high place on the ramparts—
For tomorrow we fight again.