Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ON THE WESTERN FRONT, by ALFRED NOYES Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: I found a dreadful acre of the dead Last Line: If you fail now, we shall not see or hear. Subject(s): Death; Earth; Peace; Silence; War; Dead, The; World | ||||||||
I. I FOUND a dreadful acre of the dead, Marked with the only sign on earth that saves. The wings of death were hurrying overhead, The loose earth shook on those unquiet graves; For the deep gun-pits, with quick stabs of flame, Made their own thunders of the sunlit air; Yet, as I read the crosses, name by name, Mort pour la France, it seemed that peace was there; Sunlight and peace, a peace too deep for thought, The peace of tides that underlie our strife, The peace with which the moving heavens are fraught, The peace that is our everlasting life. The loose earth shook. The very hills were stirred. The silence of the dead was all I heard. II WE, who lie here, have nothing more to pray. To all your praises we are deaf and blind. We may not even know if you betray Our hope, to make earth better for mankind. Only our silence, in the night, shall grow More silent, as the stars grow in the sky; And, while you deck our graves, you shall not know How many scornful legions pass you by. For we have heard you say (when we were living) That some small dream of good would "cost too much." But when the foe struck, we have watched you giving, And seen you move the mountains with one touch. What can be done, we know. But, have no fear! If you fail now, we shall not see or hear. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BROKEN BALANCE by ROBINSON JEFFERS SUBJECTED EARTH by ROBINSON JEFFERS GEOMETAPHYSICS by MARGARET AVISON NIAGARA by JOHN FREDERICK NIMS SOPHISTICATION by CONRAD AIKEN I SEE CHILE IN MY REARVIEW MIRROR by AGHA SHAHID ALI WASHING OUR HANDS OF THE REST OF AMERICA by MARVIN BELL THE EARTH IS A LIVING THING by LUCILLE CLIFTON MOUNTAIN LAUREL by ALFRED NOYES |
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