You’re with us still, your names engraved in stone,
Inscribed in bronze, recited every May.
Fresh flowers”mums, carnations, roses”say
The pain’s still fresh: our grieving’s never done.
Your serried graveyard markers”though you’re gone”
Compel reflection on Memorial Day.
Our sculptors’ art preserves your mortal clay:
Each marble image conjures flesh and bone.
We’ve promised that we’ll always keep you here,
But memories etched in rock must disappear:
The steles raised to keep you in our sight
All fall to dust beneath the centuries’ might.
Time mocks us when we swear your fame must live:
We feign a gift that only God can give.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
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