Their Victory Won
Their Victory Won
BY FLORENCE EARLE COATES
WAN-VISAGED Azrael, in a darkened room,
'Mid stifled sobs and pleadings full of fear,
I first was made to know thy presence drear;
And I supposed thee dweller of a tomb
Where quickly fade all fairest things that bloom:
All loves, ambitions, dreams, that men hold dear.
But now, O Death, beholding thee more near,
How changed thy look! how glorified thy gloom!
In the wide Open, 'neath a summer sky,
Bending above thy chosen, where they lie
Upon the hard-won fields of Victory,
This have they taught me—these so young, so brave,
Who smiling gave their all, the world to save—
Life is not lovelier than death may be!
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1927, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 96 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse