Elegy in a Country Churchyard
The Society of G.K. Chesterton
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Elegy in a Country Churchyard

Chesterton's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard" is one of the greatest anti-war and anti-government poems of all time.

The men that worked for England
They have their graves at home:
And bees and birds of England
About the cross can roam.

But they that fought for England,
Following a falling star,
Alas, alas for England
They have their graves afar.

And they that rule in England,
In stately conclave met,
Alas, alas for England,
They have no graves as yet.

 

More of Chesterton’s poetry can be found in Collected Works Volume Ten.