The Pilgrims Poem by John McCrae

The Pilgrims

Rating: 3.6


An uphill path, sun-gleams between the showers,
Where every beam that broke the leaden sky
Lit other hills with fairer ways than ours;
Some clustered graves where half our memories lie;
And one grim Shadow creeping ever nigh:
And this was Life.

Wherein we did another's burden seek,
The tired feet we helped upon the road,
The hand we gave the weary and the weak,
The miles we lightened one another's load,
When, faint to falling, onward yet we strode:
This too was Life.

Till, at the upland, as we turned to go
Amid fair meadows, dusky in the night,
The mists fell back upon the road below;
Broke on our tired eyes the western light;
The very graves were for a moment bright:
And this was Death.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Robert Murray Smith 22 June 2018

I liked the format of this poem.

1 2 Reply
Ruta Mohapatra 22 June 2018

A beautiful and sad poem! All that remains in the end are graves! Thanks for sharing!

2 1 Reply
Lungelo S Mbuyazi 22 June 2018

Such a nice write... I admire the brilliance of stanza 2

0 2 Reply
Bernard F. Asuncion 22 June 2018

Such a fine poem by John McCrae👍👍👍

1 1 Reply
Kayode Are 22 June 2018

Very striking: contrast of graves washed by grim shadow or western light as interchangeable for life or death.

0 1 Reply
Khairul Ahsan 23 June 2018

Loved the second stanza the most. The concluding four lines also left a deep impression on my mind: 'The mists fell back upon the road below; Broke on our tired eyes the western light; The very graves were for a moment bright: And this was Death.' A masterpiece, no doubt!

2 1 Reply
Susan Williams 22 June 2018

An elegantly written poem about our pilgrimage in life and how we act upon that journey to the grave. I am reading more by him!

1 2 Reply
Dr Antony Theodore 22 June 2018

The mists fell back upon the road below; Broke on our tired eyes the western light; graves, this was death......... very nice poem. tony

0 1 Reply
Edward Kofi Louis 22 June 2018

Life and death! ! This journey. Thanks for sharing this poem with us.

0 1 Reply
Anil Kumar Panda 22 June 2018

The path leads us to the grave. There is no escape. A very nice poem with a deep meaning related to life and death. Thanks a lot for sharing such a beautiful poem.

1 1 Reply
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John McCrae

John McCrae

Guelph, Ontario
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