- description
- # A Requiem
## Overview
"A Requiem" is a poem that appears as a segment within the larger collection "[Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9)". It is a lyrical piece, likely written in the 19th century, given its inclusion in the complete works of Herman Melville.
## Context
This poem is part of the collection "[Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9)", a significant work by Herman Melville that explores themes related to the American Civil War. The collection itself is housed within the broader "[Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW)" archive. The text was extracted from the file "[battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt](arke:01KG89J1G8S4TRWXNCBRKCRKS8)". This segment follows the poem "[On the Grave of a young Cavalry Officer killed in the Valley of Virginia.](arke:01KG8AJRAXH765NQJYV9XSA8J9)" and precedes the poem "[On a natural Monument](arke:01KG8AJRBAZC6M5RA5TDGN1FA6)".
## Contents
The poem, titled "A Requiem for Soldiers lost in Ocean Transports," reflects on the fate of soldiers lost at sea during wartime. It contrasts the natural world's renewal and joy after a storm with the eternal loss of those who perished in ocean transports. The imagery evokes the sea, storms, and the creatures that inhabit it, highlighting the finality of death for the soldiers whose "bark was lost where now the dolphins play." The poem laments their inability to see land or be guided home, emphasizing their permanent separation from life and the world.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:24.813Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- A Requiem
- end_line
- 3620
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:35.911Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 3588
- text
- A Requiem
for Soldiers lost in Ocean Transports.
When, after storms that woodlands rue,
To valleys comes atoning dawn,
The robins blithe their orchard-sports renew;
And meadow-larks, no more withdrawn,
Caroling fly in the languid blue;
The while, from many a hid recess,
Alert to partake the blessedness,
The pouring mites their airy dance pursue.
So, after ocean’s ghastly gales,
When laughing light of hoyden morning breaks,
Every finny hider wakes--
From vaults profound swims up with glittering scales;
Through the delightsome sea he sails,
With shoals of shining tiny things
Frolic on every wave that flings
Against the prow its showery spray;
All creatures joying in the morn,
Save them forever from joyance torn,
Whose bark was lost where now the dolphins play;
Save them that by the fabled shore,
Down the pale stream are washed away,
Far to the reef of bones are borne;
And never revisits them the light,
Nor sight of long-sought land and pilot more;
Nor heed they now the lone bird’s flight
Round the lone spar where mid-sea surges pour.
- title
- A Requiem