Killed In Action Poem by Maria Frances Cecilia Cowper

No. 1561. Private H. W. Reid

Only a number and a name, one more
That dies for England. Wight and majesty
And power are hers, and over land and sea
Dominion, great possessions and rich store
Of wealth untold ; yet though her heart be sore,
For him the mightiest of the powers that be
Can nothing now ; a mightier than she
Hath him in his sure keeping evermore.
She cannot promise recompense or fame,
Not even that his memory shall endure,
Or any mourn for him, his very name
Shall perish utterly, his lowly bed
Be unremembered ; yet is he not poor
That sleeps with England's deathless unnamed dead.