Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Robert BurnsWilson

1051 Such Is the Death the Soldier Dies

SUCH is the death the soldier dies:

He falls,—the column speeds away;

Upon the dabbled grass he lies,

His brave heart following, still, the fray.

The smoke-wraiths drift among the trees,

The battle storms along the hill;

The glint of distant arms he sees;

He hears his comrades shouting still.

A glimpse of far-borne flags, that fade

And vanish in the rolling din:

He knows the sweeping charge is made,

The cheering lines are closing in.

Unmindful of his mortal wound,

He faintly calls and seeks to rise;

But weakness drags him to the ground:—

Such is the death the soldier dies.