He is known to the sun-white Majesties <br />Who stand at the gates of dawn. <br />He is known to the cloud-borne company <br />Whose souls but late have gone. <br />Like wind-flung stars through lattice bars <br />They throng to greet their own, <br />With voice of flame they sound his name <br />Who died to us unknown. <br /> <br />He is hailed by the time-crowned brotherhood, <br />By the Dauntless of Marathon, <br />By Raymond, Godfrey and Lion Heart <br />Whose dreams he carried on. <br />His name they call through the heavenly hall <br />Unheard by earthly ear, <br />He is claimed by the famed in Arcady <br />Who knew no title here. <br /> <br />Oh faint was the lamp of Sirius <br />And dim was the Milky Way. <br />Oh far was the floor of Paradise <br />From the soil where the soldier lay. <br />Oh chill and stark was the crimson dark <br />Where huddled men lay deep; <br />His comrades all denied his call <br />Long had they lain in sleep. <br /> <br />Oh strange how the lamp of Sirius <br />Drops low to the dazzled eyes, <br />Oh strange how the steel-red battlefields <br />Are floors of Paradise. <br />Oh strange how the ground with never a sound <br />Swings open, tier on tier, <br />And standing there in the shining air <br />Are the friends he cherished here. <br /> <br />They are known to the sun-shod sentinels <br />Who circle the morning's door, <br />They are led by a cloud-bright company <br />Through paths unseen before. <br />Like blossoms blown, their souls have flown <br />Past war and reeking sod, <br />In the book unbound their names are found <br />They are known in the courts of God!<br /><br />Angela Morgan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-unknown-soldier/
