When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long-since cancell'd woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight.
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restor'd, and sorrows end.
William Shakespeare
Sound of Memory
Can you hear the drums?
Are they beating to the rhythm of death?
No, my friends,
there is no rhythm to death!
Death is a silent song sung by unheard voices
Can you hear the drums?
Are they beating to the rhythm of life?
No, my friends,
the rhythm of life is joyous!
Life is a loud song sung by tireless voices.
Can you hear the drums?
Are they beating to the rhythm of remembrance?
Yes, my friends,
the rhythm of remembrance is melancholy.
Remembrance is a soft song sung by knowing voices.
Listen to the drums, and
remember the drummers...
ŠAnthony W. Pahl (Bushranger)
30 May 2002
Australian Army and Viet Nam Veteran