We Forget Them Not

This poem was written by Ellen Murray, a co-founder of the Penn School on St. Helena Island in South Carolina. The poem was originally published in the Newport Mercury on July 30, 1864.

By Ellen Murray

Severed far by hills and vallies,
And the mighty rolling sea,
In another clime and circle,
Distant though our friends may be,
We forget them not.

When the earth is bright with flowers,
Or with winter’s snowdrifts white,
In our grief and in our gladness,
Noon’s broad blaze or stilly night,
We forget them not.

When the mercy seat imploring,
Their names rise with every prayer,
Asking for them God’s rich blessings
At all times, Yet chiefly there,
We forget them not.