Memorial Day [These Did Not Pass In Selfishness; They Died For All Mankind]

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Title:     Memorial Day [These Did Not Pass In Selfishness; They Died For All Mankind]
Author: Edgar A. Guest [More Titles by Guest]

These did not pass in selfishness; they died for all mankind;
They died to build a better world for all who stay behind;
And we who hold their memory dear, and bring them flowers to-day,
Should consecrate ourselves once more to live and die as they.

These were defenders of the faith and guardians of the truth;
That you and I might live and love, they gladly gave their youth;
And we who set this day apart to honor them who sleep
Should pledge ourselves to hold the faith they gave their lives to keep.

If tears are all we shed for them, then they have died in vain;
If flowers are all we bring them now, forgotten they remain;
If by their courage we ourselves to courage are not led,
Then needlessly these graves have closed above our heroes dead.

To symbolize our love with flowers is not enough to do;
We must be brave as they were brave, and true as they were true.
They died to build a better world, and we who mourn to-day
Should consecrate ourselves once more to live and die as they.

[The end]
Edgar A. Guest's poem: Memorial Day [These Did Not Pass In Selfishness; They Died For All Mankind]

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