[Editor: This poem, by Mabel Forrest, regarding Armistice Day (later known as Remembrance Day), was published in The Frankston and Somerville Standard (Frankston, Vic.), 12 November 1926.]
Armistice Day.
What have they left of all they gave?
Red poppies on a far-off grave!
No poppy blooming for a day, to die
Is their bright saga. Where our soldiers lie
There are no fading flowers. For these there glows
The lasting sweetness of the mystic rose
For these the hallowed niche the splendid place —
The sturdy courage of their island race;
The metal out of which the years have brought
The souls of heroes. Men give time and thought
For earthly ends. The huckster plans and strives
Throughout his days; But these men gave their lives!
And many there were young, with eager feet
At life’s glad threshold. Life to such is sweet,
But with both hands they gave. Oh! poppies blown
In Flanders field! May seeds of Peace be sown
About those many graves, where buried lie
The hearts of those for which such warriors die!
M. FORREST.
Brisbane, November 10.
Source:
The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld.), 11 November 1933, p. 14
Editor’s notes:
huckster = a hawker or peddler, someone who sells small items (usually door-to-door, or from a street stall), especially someone who sells cheap, dodgy, or fraudulent products; someone who makes small or petty sales; someone who sells or promotes things in an aggressive, flashy, showy, or slick and persuasive manner
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