Poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

De Rochambeau

ON THE PRESENTATION OF AN AMERICAN BANNER
  TO CAMP ROCHAMBEAU BY THE MARQUISE DE
ROCHAMBEAU AT TOURS, FRANCE, JUNE 1, 1918

Here is a picture I carry away
On memory’s wall. A green June day,
A golden sun in an amethyst sky,
And a beautiful banner floating as high
As the lofty spires of the city of Tours,
And a slender Marquise, with a face as pure
As a sculptured saint: while staunch and true
In new-world khaki and old-world blue,
Wearing their medals with modest pride,
Her stalwart bodyguard stand at her side.

Simple the picture; but much it may mean
To one who reads into and under the scene,
For there, in that opulent hour and weather,
Two great Republics came closer together;
A little nearer came land to land
Through the magical touch of a woman’s hand.
And once again as in long ago
The grand old name of de Rochambeau
Shines forth like a star, for our world to see-
Our Land of the Brave, and our Home of the Free.

1. The Birth of the Orchid
2. The Call (All wantonly in hours of joy)
3. Be Not Attached
4. Behold the Earth
5. The Black Charger

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