Death & Dying
The Band in the Pines
From Southern War Songs (1890)
O band in the pine wood, cease!
Cease with your splendid call!
The living are brave and noble,
But the dead were bravest of all!
They throng in the martial summons,
The loud, triumphant strain;
And the dear, bright eyes of long-dead friends,
Come to the heart again.
They come with the ringing bugle
And the deep drum's mellow roar--
And the soul is faint with longing
For the hands we clasp no more!
O band in the pine wood, cease!
Or the heart will melt in tears,
For the gallant eyes and the smiling lips,
And the voices of old years!
Cite this poem
MLA
Cooke, John Esten. “The Band in the Pines.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/cooke_je/4/.
Chicago
Cooke, John Esten. “The Band in the Pines.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/cooke_je/4/.
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