Where Hope Springs Eternal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
Armistice Day in the UK and around the world is commemorated every year on November 11th to mark the armistice signed between the allies of World War 1 and Germany for the cessation of all hostilities on the Western Front which took effect from the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. Even so, a formal peace agreement was only reached when the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year.
In 1920, a body was brought from France to be buried in Westminster Abbey on 11th November; the grave, which contains soil from France, is covered by a slab of black Belgian marble from a quarry near Namur.
Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Westminster Abbey.
The ceremony at Westminster Abbey today was scaled down to reflect the need to social distancing due to Covid-19; it was particularly poignant as it is 100 years since its arrival and as we continue to fight another World War with the coronavirus.
WHERE
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL
Anonymous,
yet as analogous
with Everyman as any of us, well-deserving
a State funeral
as
any member of the armed forces
making
the ultimate sacrifice
so
that others might yet live in peace
despite
humanity’s inclination
to
give as good as it gets, the greater provocation
guaranteeing
an invitation
No
sure identity to shape an image
in
the minds of any who would visit my grave,
yet
weepy eyes,
will
summon a mind-body-spirit clearer
than
any light of day
and
younger, gentler, than any springtime;
forever
anonymous, yes,
but never friendless, a presence no less synonymous
with
love than it ever was
Family,
friend, lover, whomsoever
shall
be reconciled with me on Freedom Road,
know me instantly,
fall
into my arms with all the intensity
of
emotion for which humanity
is
too often inclined to pretend it has forgotten;
reconciliation
second to none,
a
celebration of such life forces as remembrance inspires
in
dark places, at home fires
I
am that Unknown Warrior, so named, that such sacrifice
as
made in (any) war may help win and keep the peace
Copyright
R. N. Taber,
(Nov.
11th 2020)
Labels: Armistice Day, global consciousness, human nature, human spirit, peace, poetry, positive thinking, posthumous consciousness, remembrance, society, Unknown Warrior, war