"Maggie" - a Civil War poem excerpt from A Treasury of Gary W. Long's Writings

The following is an excerpt from "Maggie", one of the poems in the Historical section of A Treasury of Gary W. Long's Writings. There are several more lines which recount the letter mentioned in the poem - it's very moving. Bro. Gary was interested in the Civil War and had visited Gettysburg a number of times.

Maggie

The cannon long is silent,
The hallowed ground is still;
A lonely eagle circles,
O’er Cemetery Hill.

A solemn figure humbled,
By years of sorrow borne;
Strains to see the markings,
A stone that bids her mourn.

Beneath it lies her loved one,
Who bravely died that day;
A charge that gained so little,
And gave so much away.

Once a young brave private,
Each step a closer death;
He almost made the blue line,
Before his final breath.

Was this simple soldier,
Who left a wife and son;
Ready for the moment,
To die and not have won?

Now listen to his sweetheart,
Review his final word;
A crumpled tear-stained letter,
His words again are heard.

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