The Fallen Subaltern
Herbert Asquith 1881 – 1947
The starshells float above, the bayonets glisten;
We bear our fallen friend without a sound;
Below the waiting legions lie and listen
To us, who march upon their burial-ground.
Wound in the flag of England, here we lay him;
The guns will flash and thunder o’er the grave;
What other winding sheet should now array him,
What other music should salute the brave?
As goes the Sun-god in his chariot glorious,
When all his golden banners are unfurled,
So goes the soldier, fallen but victorious,
And leaves behind a twilight in the world.
And those who come this way, in days hereafter,
Will know that here a boy for England fell,
Who looked at danger with the eyes of laughter,
And on the charge his days were ended well.
One last salute; the bayonets clash and glisten;
With arms reversed we go without a sound:
One more has joined the men who lie and listen
To us, who march upon their burial-ground.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 248 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | abaB cdcd efef ghgh abaB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 989 |
Words | 164 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"The Fallen Subaltern" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/19037/the-fallen-subaltern>.
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