Soldiers of the light

Chapter 25: THE COMMON STREET

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About This Book

The collection gathers lyric and narrative poems that meditate on war, sacrifice, and memory, moving between vivid battlefield tableaux and quieter scenes of civic and domestic life. Several pieces evoke a major battle with landscape detail and soldierly courage, while others adopt ballad, elegy, and devotional forms to reflect on leadership, loss, and public mourning. Recurring themes include the tension between the desire for peace and the exigencies of duty, the sanctity of sacrifice, and the labor of remembrance. A blend of patriotic, mournful, and contemplative tones also turns toward urban hardship, maritime hauntings, and spiritual consolation.

THE COMMON STREET

The common street climbed up against the sky,

Gray meeting gray; and wearily to and fro

I saw the patient, common people go,

Each with his sordid burden trudging by.

And the rain dropped; there was not any sigh

Or stir of a live wind; dull, dull and slow

All motion; as a tale told long ago

The faded world; and creeping night drew nigh.

Then burst the sunset, flooding far and fleet,

Leavening the whole of life with magic leaven.

Suddenly down the long wet glistening hill

Pure splendor poured—and lo! the common street,

A golden highway into golden heaven,

With the dark shapes of men ascending still.