Could you have seen them marching Ten thousand men in line You would have said that war must be Adventurous and fine, You would have felt your pulses beat Fast to the tread of marching feet. Could you have seen them marching Under the June blue skies With all the glory of their youth Shining in their eyes, You would have bade them all God speed To battle at their country's need. But had you seen them creeping back In the grey, grey dawn, The broken bleeding bodies With all their beauty gone, Oh! never could you cheer again To see ten thousand fighting men. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TWO TREES IN KATHMANDU by KAREN SWENSON THE EXCHANGE by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE IN A LIBRARY by EMILY DICKINSON A SHROPSHIRE LAD: 50 by ALFRED EDWARD HOUSMAN POLLY by WILLIAM BRIGHTY RANDS THE ARAB TO THE PALM by BAYARD TAYLOR |