My Boy Jack and Memorial Day Weekend

Monday, May 28th is Memorial Day here in the United States which celebrates the end of WW I, but now we honor all the fallen of all of our wars.  November 11th is Armistice Day,  which is celebrated (somehow the word celebrated is a misnomer) here as Veterans' Day and in England as Armistice Day.  Originally, November 11 was to commemorate the end of the Civil War in the United States. Other countries also have special days of commemoration. Thank you to Wikipedia for the information.

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Poetry is a special love of mine and years ago when I read Rudyard Kiplings poem/lament for his son Jack who was lost in WW I, I was deeply moved. Masterpiece Theater had a dramatization of this sad part of Kipling's life, with Daniel Radcliff playing Jack.

So hard to put into words the sacrifices all our men and women make, but this poem describes the personal tragedy of any war.

                                               My Boy Jack
                                          by Rudyard Kipling


'Have you news of my boy Jack?'
     not this tide.
'When d'you think that he'll come back?'
     not with this wind blowing and this tide.


"Has anyone else had word of him?'
     Not this tide.


For what is sunk will hardly swim,
Not with this wind blowing and this tide.


'Oh dear, what comfort can I find?'
     None this tide,
     Nor any tide,
Except he did not shame his kind--
Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.


Then hold your head up all the more,
     This tide,
     And every tide;


Because his was the son you bore,
And gave to the wind blowing and that tide!




Thank you to: You Tube and The Great Modern Poets, the best Poetry of Our Times, ed Michael Schmidt.