Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, HORSES ABOARD, by THOMAS HARDY



Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

HORSES ABOARD, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Horses in horseclothes stand in a row
Last Line: From the scheme nature planned for them, -- wondering why.
Subject(s): Animals


HORSES in horseclothes stand in a row
On board the huge ship, that at last lets go:
Whither are they sailing? They do not know,
Nor what for, nor how. --
They are horses of war,
And are going to where there is fighting afar;
But they gaze through their eye-holes unwitting they are,
And that in some wilderness, gaunt and ghast,
Their bones will bleach ere a year has passed,
And the item be as "war-waste" classed. --
And when the band booms, and the folk say "Good-bye!"
And the shore slides astern, they appear wrenched awry
From the scheme Nature planned for them, -- wondering why.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...



Home: PoetryExplorer.net