Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE TWO SOLDIERS, by THOMAS HARDY


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THE TWO SOLDIERS, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Just at the corner of the wall
Last Line: Its tragic shadow there.
Subject(s): Soldiers


JUST at the corner of the wall
We met - yes, he and I -
Who had not faced in camp or hall
Since we bade home good-bye,
And what once happened came back - all -
Out of those years gone by;

And that strange woman whom we knew
And loved - long dead and gone,
Whose poor half-perished residue,
Tombless and trod, lay yon,
But at this moment to our view
Rose like a phantom wan!

And in his fixed face I could see,
Lit by a lurid shine,
The drama re-enact which she
Had dyed incarnadine
For us, and more. And doubtless he
Beheld it too in mine.

A start, as at one slightly known;
And with an indifferent air
We passed, without a sign being shown
That, as it real were,
A memory-acted scene had thrown
Its tragic shadow there.





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