Canada's Eighteen.

    At Paardeberg they fell,
        Within the Orange State;
    They did their duty well;
        They bravely met their fate.

    A stubborn fight they made
        Upon the level plain,
    While from the barricade
        The bullets poured like rain.

    They fiercely charged the trench;
        They took the outer line;
    Who saw a visage blench?
        Who heard a voice repine?

    They bore the ruthless fire;
        But deadly was the cost:
    They lived not to retire,
        Nor saw their capture lost.

    No lustrous deed they wrought
        To prompt the epic pen:
    They only bravely fought,
        And gave their lives like men.

    And yet no hero's fame
        That rings across the seas,
    Shall e'er eclipse the name
        And memory of these.

    While suns shall rise and set
        Upon the fatal scene,
    We never shall forget
        Our Canada's Eighteen.

    And now, as Britain weaves
        The garland of her grief,
    We place among the leaves
        A blood-red maple leaf.

W. M. MacKeracher

W. M. MacKeracher was a poet known for his contributions to Canadian literature during the early 20th century. His works often focused on themes of nature, human emotion, and the simplicity of rural life. Though not as widely known as some of his contemporaries, MacKeracher's poetry has been appreciated for its lyrical quality and depth. Much of his work was published in regional journals and anthologies, capturing the essence of Canadian landscapes and the human experience within them. His exact birth and death dates remain obscure.

W. M. MacKeracher

Prayer for Submission.

W. M. MacKeracher, Simple Poetry

Sonnet to ---- .

W. M. MacKeracher, Simple Poetry

My Two Boys.

W. M. MacKeracher, Simple Poetry

Vain Transient World.

W. M. MacKeracher, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

Our Dead In South Africa.

    Day of battle and day of blood
    Found you steady and strong, I ween;
    Sons of the land of the Maple Leaf,
    Face to the foe, you died for the Queen.

    Brave boys, our boys, filling to-day
    Nameless graves upon veldt and plain,
    Here's to your mem'ry gallant and true,
    Sons of our soil, who thought it gain

    To fight and win, or to fight and fall!
    Strong of purpose, you took your stand,
    Proved with your life-blood red and warm
    Canada's faith in the Motherland!

    Brave boys, our boys, this have you done,
    Drawn us closer, and bound us fast;
    One are we with the Isle in the sea,
    One in the future, the present, the past.

    Brave boys, our boys, honor we owe,
    Honor and homage a migh...

Jean Blewett

The Battle Of Chateauguay.

There is a valley where the wheat fields wave
In autumn like a gold ymolten sea;
There is a river whose cool waters lave
Sweet-scented gardens, groves, and rolling lea,
And homes of people worthy to be free;
There is a name whose sound is like a song
On lips of its own maidens - Chateauguay;
Yet mighty as the combat of the strong,
And glorious as the march of Freedom over Wrong.

And here they fought; and each encountered ten,
With war-steed and artillery arrayed;
But righteous was their cause, and they were men, -
Dark plumes of Iroquois, and Scotia's plaid,
But most, the brothers of the arm which made
Napoleon terrible with triumphing.
Between the foe and heaven they knelt and prayed,
Then, rising, heard their leader's summons ring -
"Such is our d...

W. M. MacKeracher

North-West Rebellion, 1885.

        Hail Canada our young fair land,
        The world's respect it doth command;
        How quick her sons at war's alarms
        Sprang to her rescue with their arms.

        In Canada the English rose,
        The shamrock and the thistle grows,
        United garland they combine
        Around the maple tree to twine.

        They did march a brave gallant host
        From the far East Atlantic coast,
        Our Canada so proud and free,
        Four thousand miles from sea to sea.

        Though skilful rebels did entrench,
        But their deadly fires our boys did quench,
        And victory it soon was won
        By our General Middleton.

        And Colonel Williams left a name
        For Canada's temple of fam...

James McIntyre

Langemarck

    A glory lights the skies of Flanders
        Where the blood-stained fields lie bare,
    Where the clouds of war have gathered,
        Built their parapets in the air;
    Halted stands the Teuton army,
        Checked its onslaught at a sign;
    Forward roll the warlike forces,
        Sons of Canada in line.

    Let them taste of Northern courage
        Where the lordly maple grows;
    Let them face the heroes nurtured
        Where the stars have wed the snows;
    We are sons of sires undaunted,
        Children of the hills and plains;
    Ours a courage born of duty,
        Pluck and dash of many strains.

    Tell it to our children's children
        How Canadians saved the day;
    Write it with the pen of history,
...

Thomas O'Hagan

A Canadian Trooper To His Horse

    Rest here, my horse, the night is dull, - the blood-sick stars are gone,
    Listen, for thou like me wert bred in far Saskatchewan.
    And this September night at home, under a happier sky,
    The bursting yellow sheaves upon the unbounded prairie lie.
    Bread, bread - the staff and stay of life - 'tis what the wheatlands yield;
    But only death and agony are gathered from this field.

    There's respite now, but ah! good friend, before another day,
    Although our bodies may be here, we, we, how far away!
    We've ridden many a weary mile, together we have fought
    For Freedom, honor and the right, and anything we've wrought
    Our Country to the Empire will still more closely bind.
    Ah! where the reddened maple leaf is fluttering in the wind,
    There ...

Helen Leah Reed

The March Of The Dead

The cruel war was over - oh, the triumph was so sweet!
We watched the troops returning, through our tears;
There was triumph, triumph, triumph down the scarlet glittering street,
And you scarce could hear the music for the cheers.
And you scarce could see the house-tops for the flags that flew between,
The bells were pealing madly to the sky;
And every one was shouting for the Soldiers of the Queen,
And the glory of an age was passing by.

And then there came a shadow, swift and sudden, dark and drear;
The bells were silent, not an echo stirred.
The flags were drooping sullenly, the men forgot to cheer;
We waited, and we never spoke a word.
The sky grew darker, darker, till from out the gloomy rack
There came a voice that checked the heart with dread:
"Tear down, t...

Robert William Service