POETRY

Out of context: Reply #39

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  • Morning_star0

    Attack

    At dawn the ridge emerges massed and dun
    In the wild purple of the glow'ring sun,
    Smouldering through spouts of drifting smoke that shroud
    The menacing scarred slope; and, one by one,
    Tanks creep and topple forward to the wire.
    The barrage roars and lifts. Then, clumsily bowed
    With bombs and guns and shovels and battle-gear,
    Men jostle and climb to, meet the bristling fire.
    Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear,
    They leave their trenches, going over the top,
    While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists,
    And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists,
    Flounders in mud. O Jesus, make it stop!

    _
    by Siegfried Sassoon

    I reluctantly studied the war poets at school. Something must have resonated with me as i return to them often. They hold an incredible measure of humanity.

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