POEM FOR CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY
by Oliver Reeves

How many springs have gone since they
Who wore the uniform of gray
Last looked upon summer snow of dogwood, blooming below
Their southern skies and friendly sun,
Or watched the winding rivers run
Or knew when spring wind's gentle hand
Stretched forth to heal their wounded land.
They sleep where the azaleas spread
Their glorious colors, where the red old hills
And mountain peaks
Stand listening while nature speaks.
And from the woodlands sound the strains
Of memories; where coastal plains
Run down to join the ceaseless tide
Ebbing and flowing as they died.
Let us remember them as time
And tide move on in endless rhyme.
When spring is wearing her bouquet
For the lost legions of the gray.
While bud and blossom, hill and tree
Remember them, so shall we.


In my great state of Georgia, we celebrate *Confederate Memorial Day* by closing the State Capitol and State Offices on the Monday closest to April 26th.

The War Between the States was the pivotal event in our Nation's history.
If you want only the facts about the conflict, any textbook will do.
But if you want to understand the thoughts and emotions
of the men who faced each other across the battlefield
and those who waited for them at home,
look to the poems and songs written during and after the War.