On Seeing a Piece of Our Artillery Brought into Action
Wilfred Owen 1893 (Oswestry) – 1918 (Sambre–Oise Canal)
Be slowly lifted up, thou long black arm,
Great gun towering towards Heaven, about to curse;
Sway steep against them, and for years rehearse
Huge imprecations like a blasting charm!
Reach at that Arrogance which needs thy harm,
And beat it down before its sins grow worse;
Spend our resentment, cannon,--yea, disburse
Our gold in shapes of flame, our breaths in storm.
Yet, for men's sakes whom thy vast malison
Must wither innocent of enmity,
Be not withdrawn, dark arm, thy spoilure done,
Safe to the bosom of our prosperity.
But when thy spell be cast complete and whole,
May God curse thee, and cut thee from our soul!
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 44 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABBAABBX CDCDEE |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 630 |
Words | 112 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 6 |
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"On Seeing a Piece of Our Artillery Brought into Action" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/38526/on-seeing-a-piece-of-our-artillery-brought-into-action>.
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