Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE FRONTIER, by PHILIP GUEDALLA


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE FRONTIER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Guns o' position is long and lean
Last Line: Than a gunner with guns to lay.
Subject(s): France; Oxford University; World War I; First World War


GUNS o' position is long and lean,
And fortress guns is grey;
Galloping guns is fast and keen,
And the gunners they sit behind a screen,
And never a happier man is seen
Than a gunner with guns to lay.

Oh, Toul is a town of the High Lorraine,
And gunners abide in Toul,
Guns and gunners and bridging-train,
Horse and foot in the wind and rain;
And he is a fool and a fool again
Who batters the Forts of Toul.

South and away in an open Pass,
Where the Vosges drop into the Gap,
And the roads come in from beyond Alsace,
And the guns look over the sloping grass,
Stands Belfort, bound with a belt of brass
And topped with a brazen cap.

High to the North on the Paris way,
Where the roads come over from Metz,
Lights will dazzle and lights will play,
And the guns will peer and the guns will bay,
And it's Verdun Forts will say him "Nay,"
When the enemy comes from Metz.

Guns o' position is long and lean,
And fortress guns is grey;
Galloping guns is fast and keen,
And the gunners they sit behind a screen,
And never a happier man is seen
Than a gunner with guns to lay.





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