Poems for wargamers

There are many poems about war and I thought I would like to share those that I know and those I find along the way.
First up is a poem I found in an anthology of poetry years ago:-

The Blue and the Gray
Francis Miles Finch

By the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep are the ranks of the dead:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting for judgement day:
Under the one, the Blue,
Under the other the Gray.

These are robings of glory,
Those in the gloom of defeat,
All with the battle-blood gory,
In the dusk of eternity meet:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting for judgement day:
Under the laurel, the Blue,
Under the willow, the Gray

From the silence of sorrowful hours
The desolate mourners go,
Lovingly laden with flowers,
Alike for the friend and the foe:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting for judgement day:
Under the rose, the Blue
Under the lilies, the Gray.

So, with an equal splendour,
The morning sun rays fall,
With a touch impartially tender,
On the blossoms blooming for all:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting for judgement day:
Broidered with gold, the Blue
Mellowed with gold, the Gray.

So when the summer calleth.
On forest, and field of grain,
With an equal murmur falleth,
The cooling drip of the rain:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting for judgement day:
Wet with the rain, the Blue,
Wet with the rain, the Gray.

Sadly, but not with upbraiding,
The generous deed was done,
In the storm of the years that are fading,
No braver battle was won:
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting for judgement day:
Under the blossoms, the Blue,
Under the garlands, the Gray.

No more shall the war cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red,
They banish our anger forever,
When they laurel the graves of our dead!
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting for judgement day:
Love and tears for the Blue
Tears and love for the Gray

I will post occasional poems. There are some nice, translated, poems from ancient China that I like. I hope you will too.