today

[burntcopper]

I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.

Suicide in the Trenches, Siegfried Sassoon.

Comments

[ineptshieldmaid.livejournal.com]

:(

Can we hang that in halls of parliament everywhere, please?

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

yeah. as part of GCSE we had a bunch of war poetry thrown at us, and this was the only one I ever remembered much of due it being short, simple and blunt as hell. Wish we'd had a chance to smack the Shrub and Blair around the head with it.

[ineptshieldmaid.livejournal.com]

I hear St Barack's spokespeople are making motions about asking Australia for more troops. *contemplates mailing a copy of this to the Rudd-bot, just in case*

[gmh.livejournal.com]

...was catching up on the flist and noticing that people were posting WWI stuff; was thinking 'aha, bet no-one's done 'Suicide in the Trenches', that's my favourite of 'em...'

I'll have to settle for Survivors instead.