Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a stench and sepia crust of routine war,
Awesome terror, slowly creeping,
suddenly here was seeping,
As of reapers’ haunted creeping, seeping tragedy of war.
"This old visitor," I’m thinking, "Much cruelty has been before-
Shall it pass as nothing more?"
No, again we will remember, it not only in December,
But decades of December, rotting ghosts of rhythmic war.
Desperately we hope tomorrow,
dampens embers of such sorrow,
Ends such blood spilt to this sorrow- sorrow for the loss of war-
For the lost and unforgotten, whom our habit takes to war-
Nameless here for evermore.
And the wrenching, sad uncertain ending of each soldiered son
Killing- such filling with fantastic terrors somewhere felt before;
Even now, we hear the beating of the rhythm, death repeating,
This old visitor to our witness, strangled curse of war-
Some dark visitor do we witness strangled curse of war;-
This is pain, and nothing more.
Can’t we cease this conquering anger; hesitating such no longer,
"Here," say I, "here and now, surely we can bolt this door;
But the terror still is creeping, and so stagnant it is seeping,
And engulfing it comes seeping, creeping echoes heard before,
Echoes from the wandering lost- wandering lost from sullen war;-
Darkness there, and nothing more.
Deep into this darkness peering, long we stand here wondering,
fearing,
Choking on the filth and fumes that war has brought before;
But the hate is yet unbroken, though dreams of peace are spoken,
Even spoken louder, clearer, than choking cries of war.
But war is whispered, and down to habit, we heave open its door-
Merely hate, and nothing more.
And this Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pastel fields of darkened, drenching war.
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And the souls under his shadow that lie floating on the floor
Shall be lifted- nevermore!

If you have not read the original, you can find it here:http://www.comnet.ca/~forrest/raven.html