Anzacs [poem, 23 April 1953]

Anzacs

From the cities, and the townships;
From the mining camps they came;
From all comers of their homeland,
To defend their country’s name.
And they counted not the hardships
Of the game they had to play;
They just played it, hard as ever,
In the real colonial way.
Oh! they left a gleaming milestone;
For they built a living name;
And their epitaph is written
In the words, “They played the game.”
And our noblest thoughts, and actions,
Are inspired — could they but know —
By the men who sleep, so silent . . .
Where the rustling grasses grow.

Ralph Reeves

Source:
The Western Mail (Perth, WA), Thursday 23 April 1953, page 24