Ranger Archive

By Jose Rizal

Like to a leaf that is fallen and withered,
Tossed by the tempest from pole unto pole ;
hus roams the pilgrim abroad without purpose,
Roams without love, without country or soul.

Following anxiously treacherous fortune,
Fortune which e 'en as he grasps at it flees ;
Vain though the hopes that his yearning is seeking,
Yet does the pilgrim embark on the seas !

Ever impelled by the invisible power,
Destined to roam from the East to the West ;
Oft he remembers the faces of loved ones,
Dreams of the day when he, too, was at rest.

Chance may assign him a tomb on the desert,
Grant him a final asylum of peace ;
Soon by the world and his country forgotten,
God rest his soul when his wanderings cease !

Often the sorrowing pilgrim is envied,
Circling the globe like a sea-gull above ;
Little, ah, little they know what a void
Saddens his soul by the absence of love.

Home may the pilgrim return in the future,
Back to his loved ones his footsteps he bends ;
Naught wìll he find but the snow and the ruins,
Ashes of love and the tomb of his friends,

Pilgrim, begone ! Nor return more hereafter,
Stranger thou art in the land of thy birth ;
Others may sing of their love while rejoicing,
Thou once again must roam o'er the earth.

Pilgrim, begone ! Nor return more hereafter,
Dry are the tears that a while for thee ran ;
Pilgrim, begone ! And forget thine affliction,
Loud laughs the world at the sorrows of man.

Translated by Arthur P.Ferguson

Thought my ranger bretheren might enjoy that poem. And I got asked what the quote in my sig is from.

PB32

Yoda: "When I die, the last of the Jedi, you will be!"
Luke: "Really? what about those 50,000 Jedi Masters outside comparing Saber Size?"
Yoda: "Sorry I am, My Bad it is"

Very nice PB, thank you. This reminded me of a stanza from another poem. With apologies to Mr. Whitman and no disrespect to the memory of Goliad, perhaps it can be used when asked, "What happened to the Antarians?".

After the destruction of the Jedi council and the last Jedi had been hunted down or gone into hiding, the remnants of the Antarian Rangers had also been tracked down and brought low. Bounty hunters culled their ranks by ones and twos. In some cases, remnants of several different units combined to try and fight their way to the outer rim and uncharted territories. But even these were brought to heel by the newly christened Imperial Army. Few survived to tell the tale of those last desperate days, fewer still even wanted to:

"...

Retreating, they had form’d in a hollow square, with their baggage for breastworks;
Nine hundred lives out of the surrounding enemy’s, nine times their number, was the price they took in advance;
Their colonel was wounded and their ammunition gone;
They treated for an honorable capitulation, receiv’d writing and seal, gave up their arms, and march’d back prisoners of war.

They were the glory of the race of rangers;
Matchless with horse, rifle, song, supper, courtship,
Large, turbulent, generous, handsome, proud, and affectionate,
Bearded, sunburnt, drest in the free costume of hunters,
Not a single one over thirty years of age.

The second First-day morning they were brought out in squads, and massacred—it was beautiful early summer;
The work commenced about five o’clock, and was over by eight.

None obey’d the command to kneel;
Some made a mad and helpless rush—some stood stark and straight;
A few fell at once, shot in the temple or heart—the living and dead lay together;
The maim’d and mangled dug in the dirt—the newcomers saw them there;
Some, half-kill’d, attempted to crawl away;
These were despatch’d with bayonets, or batter’d with the blunts of muskets;
A youth not seventeen years old seiz’d his assassin till two more came to release him;
The three were all torn, and cover’d with the boy’s blood.

At eleven o’clock began the burning of the bodies:
That is the tale of the murder of the four hundred and twelve young men.

..."

(The verses talks about men but this is not an atttempt to exclude our sister rangers - put it down to poetic license!)

Reybekk Ferran
Naritus
Master Ranger/Master Rifleman

"I sent a Ranger to deal with the riot."
"You only sent one Ranger?"
"There's only one riot."