The Roads Also
July 6, 2023The Letter
July 6, 2023The Next War
War’s a joke for me and you,
Wile we know such dreams are true.
– Siegfried Sassoon
Out there, we’ve walked quite friendly up to Death,-
Sat down and eaten with him, cool and bland,-
Pardoned his spilling mess-tins in our hand.
We’ve sniffed the green thick odour of his breath,-
Our eyes wept, but our courage didn’t writhe.
He’s spat at us with bullets and he’s coughed
Shrapnel. We chorussed when he sang aloft,
We whistled while he shaved us with his scythe.
Oh, Death was never enemy of ours!
We laughed at him, we leagued with him, old chum.
No soldier’s paid to kick against His powers.
We laughed, -knowing that better men would come,
And greater wars: when each proud fighter brags
He wars on Death, for lives; not men, for flags.
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) was an English poet and soldier who is considered one of the most important voices of the First World War. Owen's poetry often dealt with the horrors of war and the suffering of soldiers, and his most famous works include "Dulce et Decorum Est" and "Anthem for Doomed Youth." Owen was killed in action just one week before the end of the war.