"A golden wind that shakes the grass"

Absolution
by Siegfried Sassoon

The anguish of the earth absolves our eyes
Till beauty shines in all that we can see.
War is our scourge; yet war has made us wise,
And, fighting for our freedom, we are free.

Horror of wounds and anger at the foe,
And loss of things desired; all those things must pass.
We are the happy legion, for we know
Time's but a golden wind that shakes the grass.

There was an hour when we were loath to part
From life we longed to share no less than others.
Now, having claimed his heritage of heart,
What need we more, my comrades and my brothers?

On this Armistice Day: in honor of Walter Wildgoose (1st Lincolnshires, Machine Gun Corps) and in memory of his brother Bert (Black Watch) who died May 9, 1915 at Aubers Ridge.