Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE SIGN, by FREDERIC MANNING



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE SIGN, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: We are here in a wood of little beeches
Last Line: Across the moon.
Subject(s): Soldiers' Writings; World War I; First World War


WE are here in a wood of little beeches:
And the leaves are like black lace
Against a sky of nacre.

One bough of clear promise
Across the moon.

It is in this wise that God speaketh unto me.
He layeth hands of healing upon my flesh,
Stilling it in an eternal peace,
Until my soul reaches out myriad and infinite hands
Toward him,
And is eased of its hunger.

And I know that this passes:
This implacable fury and torment of men,
As a thing insensate and vain:
And the stillness hath said unto me,
Over the tumult of sounds and shaken flame,
Out of the terrible beauty of wrath,
I alone am eternal.

One bough of clear promise
Across the moon.





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