Anonymous British

Children Of Consolation

By the red road of storm and stress Their fathers' footsteps trod, They come, a cloud of witnesses, The messengers of God. Cradled upon some radiant gleam, Like living hopes they lie, The rainbow beauty of a dream Against a stormy sky. Before the tears of love were dried, Or anguish comfort knew, The gates of home were opened wide To let the pilgrims through. Pledges of faith, divinely fair, From peaceful worlds above Against the onslaught of despair They hold the fort of love. This poem appeared in Mr Punch's History Of The Great War in 1919. It was published by the editors of the Punch Magazine.