I, from a window where the Meuse is wide,
Looked eastward out to the September night;
The men that in the hopeless battle died
Rose, and deployed, and stationed for the fight;
A brumal army, vague and ordered large
For mile on mile by some pale general,-
I saw them lean by companies to the charge,
But no man living heard the bugle-call.
And fading still, and pointing to their scars,
They fled in lessening clouds, where gray and high
Dawn lay along the heaven in misty bars;
But watching from that eastern casement, I
Saw the Republic splendid in the sky,
And round her terrible head the morning stars.
(Hilaire Belloc)
More Poetry from Hilaire Belloc:
Hilaire Belloc Poems based on Topics: Man, Night, Morning, Heaven, Democracy- Heroic Poem in Praise of Wine (Hilaire Belloc Poems)
- Lines to a Don (Hilaire Belloc Poems)
- The South Country (Hilaire Belloc Poems)
- Jim (Hilaire Belloc Poems)
- Matilda Who told Lies, and was Burned to Death (Hilaire Belloc Poems)
- To The Balliol Men Still In Africa (Hilaire Belloc Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Man Poems, Night Poems, Heaven Poems, Morning Poems, Democracy PoemsBased on Keywords: charge, fading, watching, hopeless, september, general, fight, eastern, terrible, vague, bars