Anzac Day 1935 [poem by Erle Cox, 27 April 1935]

[Editor: This poem, by Erle Cox, regarding Anzac Day, was published in The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.), 27 April 1935.]

Anzac Day 1935

As petals fall, so fall the tender years,
With peace in fold on fold,
Veiling the hurt and bitterness and tears
And all the griefs untold.
Compassionate, beneath their gentle hands,
Are gathered and made whole,
In mystic ways, the severed silver strands,
The broken golden bowl.

But as they passed the silent years have shed,
As from celestial flames,
A greater glory o’er our sacred dead,
An aureole round their names.
The glow of time transmutes the pain to pride
In deeds of martial might,
Flooding the memories of those who died
With beams of splendent light.

ERLE COX.

Source:
The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.), 27 April 1935, p. 5 (Metropolitan Edition)

Editor’s notes:
aureole = an aura or border of heavenly light surrounding a person’s head or (less common) their entire body, a radiant light, corona, or halo (typically indicative of a blessed or sacred being; such as depicted in religious paintings of Jesus Christ, his disciples, and Christian saints); a bright, shining, or glowing ring of light or colour which encircles something

martial = of or relating to the military, soldiers, or warfare; having a military bearing; characteristic of a soldier or a warrior (derived from Mars, the Roman god of war)

o’er = (archaic) over (pronounced the same as “oar”, “or”, and “ore”)

splendent = gleaming or shining brightly, radiant; glossy, lustrous; brilliant in appearance, gorgeous, magnificent, marvellous, splendid, wonderful; (archaic) eminent, famous, illustrious, very conspicuous