11:00/11/11/03

On this Veteran's Day, 85 years to the hour (GMT) since the end of the First World War, here's a poem of hope and endless remembrance, written by Siegfried Sassoon to commemorate that moment--the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month--which brought an end to the war that had killed so many of his friends and fellow soldiers.

Everyone Sang

EVERYONE suddenly burst out singing;     
And I was filled with such delight     
As prisoned birds must find in freedom,     
Winging wildly across the white     
Orchards and dark-green fields; on--on--and out of sight.         
Everyone's voice was suddenly lifted;     
And beauty came like the setting sun:     
My heart was shaken with tears; and horror     
Drifted away ... O, but Everyone     
Was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.