HER TURKISH LANTERN (I.P.)

Scutari, November 4th
Eighteen fifty-four,
The day when Florence Nightingale
Arrived to fight her war.

On the 5th at Inkerman
A battle fierce took place,
Act three of the Crimean
Its wounded she must face.

The British lost six hundred
Three times that number hurt,
Taken to Scutari
And an angel in a skirt.

"In dreary hospitals of pain" *
Amidst infection rife,
Amidst the filth and wanting
She fought the fight for life.

She fought so soldiers injured
By cannon, gun and sword,
Need fear no microscopic foe
Might kill them on her ward.

From her Turkish lantern fell
A gentle, calming light,
Yet mighty as a beacon
It blazed upon men's plight.

Her legacy undying
Cannot be over praised,
Through her sense of rightfulness
The hopes for all were raised.

From her Turkish lantern fell
A light which could not start,
To match the mighty glow that shone
Outwith her gentle heart.

*from "Santa Filomena" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

COPYRIGHT DM PAMMENT 21st MARCH 2010

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