August 1942.
“Saturday. July 25. 1942” or
The White-Robed Bride

Softly goes the white-robed bride,
Down the sunlit aisle.
Her hand clasped in her Father’s arm,
To meet her bridegroom’s smile.

The organ peals its joyous notes,
The bridesmaids blithe and gay,
Follow behind, in love to give,
Their service, on this day.

The bridegroom waits with happy pride,
Before the altar steps.
Erect, his comrade by his side
Attends him, calm and grave.

Her Mother’s thoughts bring smiles and tears
Together, on her face.
Her greatest treasure now bestowed,
With love and fond embrace.

Lord thro’ their lives look on these two
With favour and Thy Grace,
And with Thy Goodness follow them,
Thro’ peaceful happy days.

The bride and groom in the poem are Emmie and Ron, whose wedding date is in the heading. In her Diary entry of 1st August 1942 (with accompanying photograph) May gave an account of the day of the wedding which took place in Yorkshire. It is not certain when May wrote the poem, which was simply dated ‘August 1942’. However during the rest of the month she made no further entries in her Diary but the wedding visit must have remained very much in mind and she had much more to write about it in the early part of September.

The poem has been added to the poems collection on this site. It also appears in the book The Casualties Were Small which contains over twenty of May’s poems as well as selected diary extracts, including those which suggest the background to each poem, accompanied by many nostalgic photographs.

Have you read an introduction to May Hill & family (includes photographs) and explored ‘The Casualties Were Small’?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*


*