On November 11, 1918 at 11:00, Germany surrendered and World War I ended. Originally called Armistice Day, the end of the war was celebrated with a moment of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. In 1954 the name was changed to Veterans Day and it became a holiday in honor of all men and women who served this nation in combat. We honor them, because we know they face horrors and risk their lives.
POEM
Anthem for Doomed Youth
By Wilfred Owen
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them from prayers or bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,--
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of silent minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Harrison, Michael. 1999. ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF POETRY FOR CHILDREN. By Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark, eds. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 019-276190-0
EXTENSION
Ask the students to think about how they would like to be remembered when eventually they die. Challenge them to find a poem that they think describes their lives. Put the poems together in a book for the students to browse through.
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