Through darkness curves a spume of falling flares
That flood the field with shallow, blanching light.
The huddled sentry stares
On gloom at war with white,
And white receding slow, submerged in gloom.
Guns into mimic thunder burst and boom,
And mirthless laughter rakes the whistling night.
The sentry keeps his watch where no one stirs
But the brown rats, the nimble scavengers.
(Siegfried Sassoon)
More Poetry from Siegfried Sassoon:
Siegfried Sassoon Poems based on Topics: Night, War & Peace, Light, Sadness- "The rank stench of those bodies haunts me still" (Siegfried Sassoon Poems)
- Repression of War Experience (Siegfried Sassoon Poems)
- Daybreak In A Garden (Siegfried Sassoon Poems)
- Dead Musicians (Siegfried Sassoon Poems)
- Before the Battle (Siegfried Sassoon Poems)
- Bombardment (Siegfried Sassoon Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Light Poems, Sadness Poems, War & Peace PoemsBased on Keywords: blanching, submerged, sentry, spume, rakes, mirthless, scavengers