The Two Soldiers
Thomas Hardy 1840 (Stinsford) – 1928 (Dorchester, Dorset)
Just at the corner of the wall
We met - yes, he and I -
Who had not faced in camp or hall
Since we bade home good-bye,
And what once happened came back - all -
Out of those years gone by.
And that strange woman whom we knew
And loved - long dead and gone,
Whose poor half-perished residue,
Tombless and trod, lay yon!
But at this moment to our view
Rose like a phantom wan.
And in his fixed face I could see,
Lit by a lurid shine,
The drama re-enact which she
Had dyed incarnadine
For us, and more. And doubtless he
Beheld it too in mine.
A start, as at one slightly known,
And with an indifferent air
We passed, without a sign being shown
That, as it real were,
A memory-acted scene had thrown
Its tragic shadow there.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 160 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABAB CXCDCD EFECEF GHGXGH |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 704 |
Words | 146 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
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"The Two Soldiers" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/36581/the-two-soldiers>.
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