Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TOMMY ATKINS' WAY, by EDGAR ALBERT GUEST Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: He was battle-scarred and ugly with the marks of shot and shell Last Line: "saying: ""nothing, nothing really, that's worth mentioning at h'all." Alternate Author Name(s): Guest, Eddie Subject(s): War | ||||||||
He was battle-scarred and ugly with the marks of shot and shell, And we knew that British Tommy had a stirring tale to tell, So we asked him where he got it and what disarranged his face, And he answered, blushing scarlet: "In a nawsty little place" There were medals on his jacket, but he wouldn't tell us why. "A bit lucky, gettin' this one," was the sum of his reply. He had fought a horde of Prussians with his back against the wall, And he told us, when we questioned: "H'it was nothing arfter h'all." Not a word of what he'd suffered, not a word of what he'd seen, Not a word about the fury of the hell through which he'd been. All he said was: "When you're cornered, h'and you've got no plyce to go, You've just got to stand up to it! You cawn't 'elp yourself, you know. "H'it was just a bit unpleasant, when the shells were droppin' thick," And he tapped his leather leggins with his little bamboo stick. "What did H'I do? Nothing, really! Nothing more than just my share; Some one h'else would gladly do it, but H'I 'appened to be there." When this sturdy British Tommy quits the battlefields of earth And St. Peter asks his spirit to recount his deeds of worth, I fancy I can hear him, with his curious English drawl, Saying: "Nothing, nothing really, that's worth mentioning at h'all." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...I AM YOUR WAITER TONIGHT AND MY NAME IS DIMITRI by ROBERT HASS MITRAILLIATRICE by ERNEST HEMINGWAY RIPARTO D'ASSALTO by ERNEST HEMINGWAY WAR VOYEURS by JUAN FELIPE HERRERA THE DREAM OF WAKING by RANDALL JARRELL THE SURVIVOR AMONG GRAVES by RANDALL JARRELL SO MANY BLOOD-LAKES by ROBINSON JEFFERS |
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