Ode for Memorial Day
Done are the toils and the wearisome marches,
Done is the summons of bugle and drum.
Softly and sweetly the sky overarches,
Shelt’ring a land where Rebellion is dumb.
Dark were the days of the country’s derangement,
Sad were the hours when the conflict was on,
But through the gloom of fraternal estrangement
God sent his light, and we welcome the dawn.
O’er the expanse of our mighty dominions,
Sweeping away to the uttermost parts,
Peace, the wide-flying, on untiring pinions,
Bringeth her message of joy to our hearts.
Ah, but this joy which our minds cannot measure,
What did it cost for our fathers to gain!
Bought at the price of the heart’s dearest treasure,
Born out of travail and sorrow and pain;
Born in the battle where fleet Death was flying,
Slaying with sabre-stroke bloody and fell;
Born where the heroes and martyrs were dying,
Torn by the fury of bullet and shell.
Ah, but the day is past; silent the rattle,
And the confusion that followed the fight.
Peace to the heroes who died in the battle,
Martyrs to truth and the crowning of Right!
Out of the blood of a conflict fraternal,
Out of the dust and dimness of death,
Burst into blossoms of glory eternal
Flowers that sweeten the world with the breath.
Flowers of charity, peace, and devotion
Bloom in the hearts that are empty of strife;
Love that is boundless and broad as the ocean
Leaps into beauty and fullness of life.
So, with the singing of paeans and chorals,
And with the flag flashing high in the sun,
Place on the graves of our heroes the laurels
Which their unfaltering valor has won!
Paul Lawrence Dunbar -- 1896
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A few memories from yesterday on our adventure to Hall Mountain.
We went looking for a carpet of wildflowers on a vast hillside overlooking the Kootenai Valley, but the dominant lupine have not bloomed yet.
Glacial lilies were putting on a show as were other varieties.
The big mountain color show will improve when the wild lupine pop out.
Though we were a little early for the wildflower show, the valley below, with it's meticulously prepared farm fields, the meandering Kootenai River and surrounding snow-capped mountains offered a splendid view of Idaho, Montana and Canada.
The best part: we had it ALL to ourselves. We met one car going up when we were coming down.
It's a spectacular place and definitely one which inspires and reminds us of the magnificence and joy of life, simple gifts and of special memories in a natural world.
From the monuments we saw, it's obvious someone else feels the same.
Enjoy the music, the photos and memories of those who have gone before you.
