Star of Gold Removed
By Helen Kimball Orgill
I saw my neighbor across the way
Take down her star of gold today,
That in her window shining through
Was superseded by the blue.
She smiled and tried to hide the pain
That long within her heart had lain.
Evading not his mentioned name,
Yet modest of her hero’s fame,
I saw beyond the courage won,
A pillow wet with day begun.
The star to her meant many boys:
The one who played with childish toys,
The lad who had with living seethed,
The twinkling eyes and teeth all wreathed
In smiles, who played at games with zest,
And danced and skated with the best.
O wise of earth, men high and low,
What recompense can you bestow?
The star of gold, O let it lead
Away from selfishness and greed,
To beckon on, like long ago,
The star of Bethlehem to glow!
(1946)
A very poignant melancholy in this one, connecting the Star of Bethlehem with the serviceman stars of WWII.
And yet 65 years later we’re no closer to answering why the “wise men of earth” are robbing youth of their lives than we were when this was written.
Thanks for acknowledging this poem, Clark. I responded to the poignancy, too.
Beautiful poem. Tears in my eyes.
So I searched. Helen Mar Kimball Orgill (1885-1982). I was initiallly interested to see how she was connected into the extended Kimball family I married into. She is a granddaughter of Heber C. and Vilate – so she’s a cousin of my wife’s grandfather through a different wife of Heber C.
Then I saw her husband’s death. April 17, 1944. But he wasn’t a soldier. He was a bus driver in Salt Lake City who died of a heart condition at age 55. (Pretty close to my age. And they lived right up in your neighborhood, Ardis.) There is no indication of them losing a son during the war. But there is no doubt Sister Orgill understood the pain and the meaning of the stars.
All stars should lead us to the only hope we have for peace on earth and an end to death in all its forms.
Thank, Ardis, for sharing these beautiful poems.
Aw, great contribution, Grant. Thanks.