Decoration Day

This is the opening dedication Of annual day of decoration, And thus each year will brothers meet To shed the bloom and perfume sweet; For they will have a noble aim In meeting on the banks of Thame.

In the States they decorate grave Of each departed soldier brave, But here in Ontario West We decorate where brothers rest, Though some are unknown to fame They peaceful rest on banks of Thame.

No more their grave is place of gloom, But scene of fragrance and bloom; No more the tomb is dismal cave For flowers each year will o’er it wave; In sweet remembrance each name Will live beside the silver Thame.

Flowers here will shed their rich perfume And thus dispel the dismal gloom; Departed’s memory we cherish, And their names shall never perish, While doth flow the pleasant stream O’er pebbly bed, the crystal Thame.