POEM: "Something is Lost"

[Bluebear]

Something of every boy is lost in war
As surely as the boy who dies in war is lost:
The wonder in his eyes, bright as a star,
The laughter that was quick and clean as frost:
Something of trust, reluctance to do harm;
The sense that all was right, that men were good:
Something is lost, less tangible than blood.

Something of every boy is lost, the thread
Upon which his illusions once were strung.
Like some bright bird that flies with crippled wing
Each boy returns less gentle and less young.
What is there we can say to assuage the truth?
Nothing but lasting peace can avenge their youth.

Mabel C. Burlingham

http://www.rosie.com/#

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Originally posted by Rosie O'Donnell on her blog.