Helena weekly herald., 1885-06-04
For the HERALD.
DECORATION DAY.

The patriots are calling, the fallen and true.
"All that we had have given for you;
Gather your fairest and gather your best
To garland the graves where the soldiers rest"
To the land Of the fairies the message had flown
And the queen of the flowers assembled her
throne,
While her subjects came fiocsing in violet and
green,
To inquire the reason the court should convene.
80 when ali assembled in beauteous array,
We have gathered the monarch responded,
to-day,
To garland the graves where our brave soldiers
rest,
To give Of our fairest, to give of our best"
Then a murmur arose, like the hum OF the bees,
Or the sigh Of the wind in the boughs of the
trees
A. each one of the flowers the glory did crave,
To be formed in a wreath for a soldiers grave.
II must go" said the rose for I'm queen Of the
flowers,
Aud wreath is imperfect not plucked from my
bowers"
Then the white and the red tried place 10
secure,
For one gorgeous. the other so pure.
Next, the lilies entreated for room in the wreath
And their fair bells dropped lower in innocent
grief
While the dahlias plead colors OF every hue,
OF white, red and yellow OF crimson and blue
Tbs verbenas stood straight with such various
display
dismay;
of blue,
-. IL.
The forget me-nots came with an array 80 great
They surrounded the queen on the throne Of her
state:
we have watched the sad partings of friendship
and youth.
And they took us for pledges OF friendship and
truth,
For our blossoms reposed on the heart Of the
maid,
Aud our flowers ON the breasts OF the soldiers
were laid.
Ia battle he bore us mid wars fearful! storm.
And the bullet marks oft did our petals deform.
We are not the fairest, we are not the best,
Yet the soldier would like us to grace his last
rest"
But softer the murmur and sweeter the sound.
As the sweet scented wild flowers gathered
around;
We can boast OF no beauty and our petals are
pale,
For we love the dark shade OF the deep woody
vale,
But for this we have opened our earliest bloom,
And for this we have boarded our sweetest per-
fume;
For while ye; on the ground lay the beautiful
snow,
Our leaves were unfolding ia greenness below.
Faircst queen. send u not 10 our home ia the
shade
Let our fragrance arise where the soldier il laid
Yes take of our farest and take Of Our best
To sweeten the sod where our brave soldiers
rest
Then chorus Of voices peryaded the air,
As the loud notes assembled from everywhere,
of the daisy, and cowsiip, and clover, aud all
OF the flowers that garland the wayside and
wall:
Though we may not be wreathed with the
blossoms 20 bright
Yet we will spring his grave like stars Of the
And when others much fairer are faded and
All our leaves will he green and Wen still bios
He has seen us at home at the feet OF his bride
He has plucked our first flowers for the child at
his side
From the swamps Of the South to the forests of
Maine.
From Atlantic's rough shore to the great West
ern plain,
We have cooled his hot wounds on the green
tdrfy sod,
And our flowers have been dyed with our eoun-
try's best blood.
We have pilloweu his head as lac breathed his
last sigh,
With our fragrance his soul has assembled on
high.
We have whispered OF home, of his children and
wife.
And he gave them TO heaven n he yielded his
life
No garland wei make OF our fsirest and best.
But where'ere is a grave shall our flowers deck
his rest ADDIE SPENCER.