As we see, almost daily young men dying where politicians have sent them, Afghanistan at the moment, I think it is well worth rereading Chesterton's poem. He wrote it shortly after the death of his brother at the end of World War I.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard
The men that worked for England
They have their graves at home:
And bees and birds of England
About the cross can roam.
But they that fought for England,
Following a falling star,
Alas, alas for England
They have their graves afar.
And they that rule in England,
In stately conclave met,
Alas, alas for England,
Alas, alas for England,
They have no graves as yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment