The poems of WWI continue to resonate
with us today because they speak to human feelings and experiences that
transcend time. Diana Gurney’s poem “The
Fallen” reminds us that holidays often highlight emptiness; we see the vacant place at the table, we fail
to hear the familiar voice, we miss the loved
ones we have lost.
Our
grief is often awash in uncertainty, and that’s where this short poem begins --
with a question and with the heart-wrenching admission “We do not know.” The speaker of the poem seems paralyzed with
sadness, unsure even about laying a holly wreath on the grave of “The Fallen” (holly is not only associated with festive cheer, but also with defense and domestic happiness). There are no big actions here, only “a breath/Of our remembering.” The
dead are also quiet, and the poem is suffused in stillness. Instead of the musical notes of “Silent
Night,” we hear only a “Silent Christmas.”
The
Fallen by Diana Gurney
Shall
we not lay our holly wreath
Here at the foot of this high cross?
We do not know, perhaps a breath
Of our remembering may come
To them at last where they are sleeping,
They are quiet, they are dumb,
No more of mirth, no more of weeping,
Silent Christmas they are keeping;
Ours the sorrow, ours the loss.
Here at the foot of this high cross?
We do not know, perhaps a breath
Of our remembering may come
To them at last where they are sleeping,
They are quiet, they are dumb,
No more of mirth, no more of weeping,
Silent Christmas they are keeping;
Ours the sorrow, ours the loss.
If
you don’t like your history and remembrance served up by a supermarket, I
recommend the film Joyeux Noel – or just
take a moment out of the holiday bustle for silence and stillness as Diana
Gurney’s “The Fallen” suggests.
I l;iked the commercial and the poem...
ReplyDeleteBoth beautiful. Over by Christmas eh?
ReplyDelete