Speed Little Message

Go, little message, upon your way,

Go to the home folks and gladden the day,

Over the ocean deep and blue,

Back to the land where hearts beat true.

 

Speed, little message, with all your might!

Gather up all the love and light.

Tell them how glad I am that they

Will be there to welcome me some day.

 

A little message came back to me

From my little home across the sea.

It brought me strength and love and light.

It helped me through the shades of night.

 

Go, little message, go back and say

That the long dark night has changed to day.

In the world there’s joy and peace once more,

And we’re coming home, for our work is o’er.

 

That little message must sometimes be

A message of sadness from o’er the sea;

Of dear home ties that must disband;

Of a wooden cross in “No Man’s Land.”

 

Speed, little message, upon your way;

Say to them all that we would say

That they did not fail us over there,

While we did our bit over here.

 

By Hedvig Grund


This poem appeared in The Daily Mining Journal (of Ishpeming, MI)

on February 18, 1919.

The brief accompanying story was entitled:

Writes a Poem.  Miss Hedvig Grund Is Seeing Overseas Service.

and continued:

Miss Hedvig Grund, who has been overseas, as a Red Cross nurse during the past several months, has written a poem called “Speed Little Message,” which she sent to her mother, Mrs. E. Grund, Second street.  Miss Grund was graduated from Augustana hospital, Chicago and enlisted with the first call for nurses to go to France.

Hedy’s poem was likely composed in January 1919 when Base Hospital No. 11, where she had served since the early fall of 1918, was relieved from duty.  The Armistice of 11 November 1918 had of course formally ended WWI, marking a victory for the Allies, and assuring those who served that their journey home was soon to come.