120
AFTER THE BATTLE.
The night is gathering slowly;
Some faces lie so calm,
You think the dead ears listen
To the eternal psalm!—
Lie blankly gazing upward,
Unheedful night has come,
The time the soldier folds his arms
And dreams of friends and home.
Some faces lie so calm,
You think the dead ears listen
To the eternal psalm!—
Lie blankly gazing upward,
Unheedful night has come,
The time the soldier folds his arms
And dreams of friends and home.
They lie there all together,
Rebel, and Union true;
Close, side by side, the uniforms
Of gray, and Federal blue;
White-haired and bearded veterans,
Youths with their locks of gold,
Whose pale, unchanging faces,
Now, never will grow old!
Rebel, and Union true;
Close, side by side, the uniforms
Of gray, and Federal blue;
White-haired and bearded veterans,
Youths with their locks of gold,
Whose pale, unchanging faces,
Now, never will grow old!
The living claim our weeping;
The dead, why sorrow o'er?
They have passed unto God, and He
Cares for them evermore;
They've crossed the mystic river
And reached the shadowy lands,—
We follow them no further,—
We leave them in His hands.
The dead, why sorrow o'er?
They have passed unto God, and He
Cares for them evermore;
They've crossed the mystic river
And reached the shadowy lands,—
We follow them no further,—
We leave them in His hands.
O God! our hearts cry daily
For all this strife to cease!
Give us the signal victory,
And give us lasting peace!
For all this strife to cease!
Give us the signal victory,
And give us lasting peace!
