There is a word 1
Which bears a sword
Can pierce an armed man－
It hurls its barbed syllables
And is mute again－5
But where it fell
The saved will tell
On patriotic day,
Some epauletted Brother
Gave his breath away.
Wherever runs the breathless sun－11
Wherever roams the day－
There is its noiseless onset－
There is its victory!
Behold the keenest marksman!
The most accomplished shot! 16
Time's sublimest target
Is a soul "forgot!"
Which bears a sword
Can pierce an armed man－
It hurls its barbed syllables
And is mute again－5
But where it fell
The saved will tell
On patriotic day,
Some epauletted Brother
Gave his breath away.
Wherever runs the breathless sun－11
Wherever roams the day－
There is its noiseless onset－
There is its victory!
Behold the keenest marksman!
The most accomplished shot! 16
Time's sublimest target
Is a soul "forgot!"
(F.42/J.8)
[1-2] a word, bears a sword:: password, a word containing "sword" and it bears the power of sword to kill. The spelling without hyphen (password, not pass-word) was used already in 1815.
[4-5] hurls, mute:: it's the way password functioned.
[15-18] marksman, shot, forgot:: a marksman who shot someone forgot the password.
"Lawfully is everywhere the Divine password." ─ The Sunday School Repository (1815).
An Authentic Key to the Door of Free-Masonry. Calculated not only for the Instruction of every new-made Mason, but also for the Information of all who intend to become Brethren. ... and also the Sign, Grip, and Pass-Word of each Degree; ─ The Critical Review (1762)