Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DRUMMER HODGE, by THOMAS HARDY



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

DRUMMER HODGE, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: They throw in drummer hodge, to rest
Last Line: His stars eternally.
Variant Title(s): The Dead Drummer
Subject(s): Boer War; Travel; War; South African War; Journeys; Trips


1
They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
Uncoffined -- just as found:
His landmark is a kopje-crest
That breaks the veldt around;
And foreign constellations west
Each night above his mound.

2
Young Hodge the Drummer never knew --
Fresh from his Wessex home --
The meaning of the broad Karoo,
The Bush, the dusty loam,
And why uprose to nightly view
Strange stars amid the gloam.

3
Yet portion of that unknown plain
Will Hodge forever be;
His homely Northern breast and brain
Grow to some Southern tree,
And strange-eyed constellations reign
His stars eternally.





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