The sphinxes veil their faces
   With wings of carven stone,
The utterers of sorrow
   In one eternal moan.

The living, awed and solemn
   Review the holy shrine,
In hope the future never
   May hear the shrapnel whine.

In hope that man may waken
   From his primeval mood,
And nation keep with nation
   The truce of brotherhood.

--John Milton Smither.

THE MEMORIAL SHAFT

By night it shines, a beacon
   To ships that travel home
From all the coastal cities,
   Across the silent dome.

By day it acts as sentry
   And guards our gate-way well,
It has a solemn purpose--
   To honor men who fell.

It serves as man's reminder
   To strive for brotherhood,
With God their peaceful leader,
   Exemplifying good.

--Elfriede Schutt.