John Reuben Thompson
The poem which follows was written just after the Seven Days of Battle,
near Richmond, in 1862. It was suggested by the appearance of a rainbow,
the evening before the grand trial of strength between the contending
armies. This rainbow overspread the eastern sky, and exactly defined the
position of the Confederate army, as seen from the Capitol at Richmond.
The warm, weary day, was departing–the smile
Of the sunset gave token the tempest had ceased;
And the lightning yet fitfully gleamed for a while
On the cloud that sank sullen and dark in the east.
There our army–awaiting the terrible fight
Of the morrow–lay hopeful, and watching, and still;
Where their tents all the region had sprinkled with white,
From river to river, o’er meadow and hill.
While above them the fierce cannonade of the sky
Blazed and burst from the vapors that muffled the sun,
Their “counterfeit clamors” gave forth no reply;
And slept till the battle, the charge in each gun.
When lo! on the cloud, a miraculous thing!
Broke in beauty the rainbow our host to enfold!
The centre o’erspread by its arch, and each wing
Suffused with its azure and crimson and gold.
Blest omen of victory, symbol divine
Of peace after tumult, repose after pain;
How sweet and how glowing with promise the sign,
To eyes that should never behold it again!
For the fierce flame of war on the morrow flashed out,
And its thunder-peals filled all the tremulous air:
Over slippery intrenchment and reddened redoubt,
Rang the wild cheer of triumph, the cry of despair.
Then a long week of glory and agony came–
Of mute supplication, and yearning, and dread;
When day unto day gave the record of fame,
And night unto night gave the list of its dead.
We had triumphed–the foe had fled back to his ships–
His standard in rags and his legions a wreck–
But alas! the stark faces and colorless lips
Of our loved ones, gave triumph’s rejoicing a check.
Not yet, oh not yet, as a sign of release,
Had the Lord set in mercy his bow in the cloud;
Not yet had the Comforter whispered of peace
To the hearts that around us lay bleeding and bowed.
But the promise was given–the beautiful arc,
With its brilliant profusion of colors, that spanned
The sky on that exquisite eve, was the mark
Of the Infinite Love overarching the land:
And that Love, shining richly and full as the day,
Through the tear-drops that moisten each martyr’s proud pall,
On the gloom of the past the bright bow shall display
Of Freedom, Peace, Victory, bent over all.
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Analysis (AI Assisted)
This poem is written from a position of memory, after the fighting has already taken place, but it begins in the quiet before the violence. The opening lines focus on exhaustion. The day is described as “warm” and “weary,” which applies just as much to the soldiers as to the landscape. The storm is ending, and the army is waiting. Nothing is happening yet, but everything is about to. This waiting becomes the emotional center of the first half of the poem. The soldiers are still, hopeful, and silent. Their weapons are ready, but unused. There is tension in this stillness, a sense that the men already understand what is coming.
The rainbow appears at exactly this moment. It interrupts the darkness and uncertainty with something beautiful and unexpected. The poem treats it as more than a natural event. It becomes a sign, something that carries meaning beyond itself. The rainbow arches directly over the army, visually enclosing it. This makes the soldiers appear chosen or protected. The colors—blue, crimson, and gold—echo military imagery, uniforms, blood, and honor. The rainbow does not just decorate the sky. It seems to claim the army beneath it.
The poem calls the rainbow a “blest omen of victory,” and this shows how badly the soldiers and observers needed reassurance. Before battle, there is no certainty, only fear and hope. The rainbow gives them something to believe in. It transforms anxiety into confidence. But the poem also makes clear that this hope comes with irony. It notes that the sign was beautiful “to eyes that should never behold it again.” This line shifts the meaning of the rainbow. It is no longer just a promise. It is also a farewell. Many of the men who saw it would die in the coming days.
When the battle begins, the tone changes quickly. The quiet waiting disappears, replaced by noise, chaos, and suffering. The poem describes both triumph and despair at the same time. It does not present victory as clean or simple. The fighting lasts for days, and each day brings glory and fear, while each night brings death. The repetition of this pattern emphasizes the grind of battle. Victory is not a single moment. It is something that comes slowly, and at great cost.
Even when the army wins, the poem refuses to present victory as purely joyful. The image of “stark faces and colorless lips” interrupts any celebration. These are the dead soldiers, the cost of the success. Their presence changes how victory feels. The army may have driven the enemy away, but they cannot escape what they have lost. The triumph is real, but it is incomplete. It carries grief inside it.
The rainbow’s meaning also evolves as the poem continues. At first, it seemed to promise victory. Later, the poem admits that it was not yet a sign of peace or release. The soldiers still had to suffer. The land was still bleeding. This challenges the idea that divine signs bring immediate comfort. Instead, the rainbow becomes something that points to a distant future, not the present moment. It promises eventual peace, not immediate relief.
By the end, the rainbow becomes a symbol of endurance rather than protection. It represents the belief that suffering has meaning, and that the losses were not pointless. The poem connects the dead soldiers to the idea of martyrs, suggesting that their deaths were part of something larger. This helps make sense of the grief. It does not erase the pain, but it gives it a framework.
What makes this poem stand out is how it balances belief and reality. It does not deny the suffering or the loss. It shows the dead, the wounded, and the emotional weight carried by the survivors. At the same time, it holds onto the idea that there was purpose behind it all. The rainbow becomes a way to hold both truths at once. It is beautiful, but it appears over men who are about to die. It promises peace, but only after violence. It represents hope, but that hope exists alongside grief, not in place of it.
The poem ultimately shows how people search for meaning during war. Faced with fear and loss, they look for signs that their suffering is not random. The rainbow becomes one of those signs. Whether it truly meant anything or not is left unanswered. What matters is that the soldiers and those who watched them needed it to mean something.