Memorial Day Poem and Memorial Day Trivia

Reenactment of the Civil War Battle of Franklin

If you are looking for a beautiful Memorial day poem, quotes or Memorial day trivia, you've come to the right place! The famous American poet, Walt Whitman, wrote a moving poem that is perfect for Memorial Day. Called "Come Up From the Fields, Father", this touching poem tells the story of a Civil War soldier's death, and the letter that his family received when he was wounded.

Come Up From the Fields, Father

A Memorial Day Poem by Walt Whitman

Come up from the fields, father,
here's a letter from our Pete,
And come to the front door, mother, here's
a letter from thy dear son.

Lo, 'tis autumn,
Lo, where the trees, deeper green, yellower and redder,
Cool and sweeten Ohio's villages with leaves
fluttering in the moderate wind,
Where apples ripe in the orchards hang and
grapes on the trellis'd vines,
(Smell you the smell of the grapes on the vines?
Smell you the buckwheat where the bees were lately buzzing?)
Above all, lo, the sky so calm, so transparent
after the rain, and with wondrous clouds,
Below too, all calm, all vital and beautiful,
and the farm prospers well.

Down in the fields all prospers well,
But now from the fields come, father, come
at the daughter's call,
And come to the entry, mother, to the front door come right away.
Fast as she can she hurries, something ominous,
her steps trembling,
She does not tarry to smooth her hair nor
adjust her cap.

Open the envelope quickly,
O this is not our son's writing,
yet his name is sign'd,
O a strange hand writes for our dear son,
O stricken mother's soul!
All swims before her eyes, flashes with black,
she catches the main words only,
Sentences broken, gunshot wound in the breast,
cavalry skirmish, taken to hospital,
At present low, but will soon be better.

Ah, now the single figure to me,
Amid all teeming and wealthy Ohio with all
its cities and farms,
Sickly white in the face and dull in the head,
very faint,
By the jamb of a door leans.

Grieve not so, dear mother
(the just-grown
daughter speaks through her sobs,
The little sisters huddle around speechless and
dismay'd),
See, dearest mother, the letter says Pete will
soon be better.

Alas, poor boy, he will never be better (nor maybe
needs to be better, that brave and simple soul),
While they stand at home at the door he is
dead already,
The only son is dead.

But the mother needs to be better,
She with thin form presently drest in black,
By day her meals untouch'd, then at night
fitfully sleeping, often waking,
In the midnight waking, weeping, longing with
one deep longing,
O that she might withdraw unnoticed, silent
from life escape and withdraw,
To follow, to seek, to be with her dear dead son.

Memorial Day Trivia and History

If you enjoyed reading that Memorial Day poem, maybe you'd like to learn some trivia about this holiday. Here's some history about the holiday...

The origin of Memorial Day dates back to May 30, 1868. On that day, flowers were placed on the graves of Confederate and Union soldiers. General James Garfield gave a speech at Arlington National Cemetery on that first official Memorial Day holiday.

Memorial Day did not become a nationally recognized, federal holiday until 1971. Prior to that, it was celebrated on different days in different states. In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared it a federal holiday that would be celebrated on the last Monday in May.
On Memorial Day, the flag should be at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.
Red Poppies are recognized as the Memorial Day flower. In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields", Moina Michael replied with her own Memorial Day poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led,

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies.

Moina Michale then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.
Memorial Day was also called Decoration Day. May 30th was chosen as the day for the first Memorial Day observance, because flowers would be in full bloom in most of the country, allowing fresh flowers to be placed on the graves of the soldiers.

Memorial Day Quotes

"Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored." - Daniel Webster

"Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened." - Billy Graham

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." - Joseph Campbell

"We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them." - Francis A. Walker

"I consider it no sacrifice to die for my country. In my mind, we came here to thank God that men like these have lived rather than to regret that they have died." - General George S. Patton

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