Lay Them Down Gentle

Lay them down gentle where the quiet grass grows, where the old wind walks and the thistle keeps watch; nameless they came, and nameless they go, yet the heart of the land will remember how much. Cold was the night and long was the road, hard was the steel and heavy the shield; they carried the weak when the weak could not stand, and held back the dark on an unyielding field. Mourn them softly, let the low clouds weep, let the curlew cry once and be still; their names are the rain, their glory the deep unwritten song that is sung in us still. No stone bears their telling, no banner their sign, only the silence that follows the blade; yet the fire they kindled shall never decline while one heart is brave and one oath is unpaid. So fare you well, brothers, fare you well, sisters, the road turns again and the dawn is not done; we lift what you bore, we carry it on, till the shadow is broken and the battle is won. Sleep now in the heather, sleep now in the glen, the earth is your cradle, the sky is your own; and we who remain will remember you when we stand where you stood, and we stand not alone.