OCR Text |
Show POEM CLIPPED FROM GAMP JOISTON PAPER 1 The following poem was clipped from the Trench and Camp." a paper for army men and their home folks.! publlshHl at Camp Joseph E. John- , ston. Jacksonville. Fla. : Go. My oy, Where Duty Calls. Go. my boy, and heaven bless you! I have read each precious line Of your hr-nn's responsive throbbinc To a higher call than mine. J God has spoken you have heard Illm. I And though tears these eyes bedim, Your affection for your mother Shall not mar your love for Him. Could I bid you stay from fondness When tbe over ruling hand Marks your path to duty clearly I For the safety of your land? No! 'tis yours to be a patriot, And 'tis mine to be as true; Go, my boy. where duty calls you And' my bean shall follow you! I Go in faith and feel proipction In a power supreme, divine; Should a bullet pierce our body It will also enter mine. : Do I think of this in sorrow1 Does my love and f"ars renew? Do I tremble at the prospect? No, my son, no more than you. Dear to me is every pathway Where your precious feet have trod I But I give you tondly, freely. To my country and my Cod. I You and I shall uevex falter In the work we have to do; ; Go, my boy. where duty calls you And my heart shall follow you. I shall pray for you how often With tbe waking hour of morn. Through the lahoTfl my household And when night is coming on. j If a mother's prayers can keep ou, 'Mid the dangers you incur, ' God will surely bring you back Again to happiness and her. I I will never doubt tbe goodness Thai has kept you until now, ; Thai has kept the evil from your Heart, the shadow from your brow. ; And I know that it shall keep You in the path you must pursue, I Go. my bqy. where duty calls ou And my hart all follow you. If my boy were lcjs a bero, Less tbe man in ihoucht and deed, I had less to xive my country , I In her tryrriK hour of need; And f feel a pride in knowing That 10 serve this cause divine From the hearthstone goes no braver Heart than that which goes lrom , mine. r , 1 1 1 have lpved you from the hour That my ltps fljst pre' sed your brow 1 Ever tenderly, but ne r Quite as tenderly as now; All 1 -have is His who gave it. Whatsoe'er He bids me do; Go, my hoy, where duty calls you And my heart shall follow you. I shall miss you in the springtime, When the orchard is in bloom. When the smiling face of nature Bathes its beauty in perfume. When the birds are sweetly sincang By the door and on the wing, I shall think of you who always I 11 d 10 pause and hear them sing. Long will seem the waning hours Through the drowsy summer day With my boy exposed to dangers On a soil far, far away. But my spirit shall not murmur. Though a tear bedims my view; Go, my boy. where duly calls ou And my heart shall folJow you. You will come and see your mother Come and kiss her as you say; From her lips receive the blessing That shall cheer ou on your va ; From her fond embrace ko forward To resist your country's foe Wiih the comforting assurance That our mother bade you go. Now may heaven protect and bless you. Holy angels guard your way, Keep your spirit from temptation And your feet from going astray. To your country over faiihful, To your count ry ever true. Go. my hoy. where duty calls you And my heart shall follow you. 00 |