GOD with a Roll of Honour in His hand
Sits welcoming the heroes who have died,
While sorrowless angels ranked on either side
Stand easy in Elysium’s meadow-land.
Then you come shyly through the garden gate,
Wearing a blood-soaked bandage on your head;
And God says something kind because you’re dead,
And homesick, discontented with your fate.
If I were there we’d snowball Death with skulls;
Or ride away to hunt in Devil’s Wood
With ghosts of puppies that we walked of old.
But you’re alone; and solitude annuls
Our earthly jokes; and strangely wise and good
You roam forlorn along the streets of gold.
(Siegfried Sassoon)
More Poetry from Siegfried Sassoon:
Siegfried Sassoon Poems based on Topics: God, Fate & Destiny, Garden, Honor, Gold, Jokes & Humor, Heroism, Devils- "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: God Poems, Gold Poems, Fate & Destiny Poems, Garden Poems, Honor Poems, Heroism Poems, Devils Poems, Jokes & Humor PoemsBased on Keywords: elysium, homesick, puppies, bandage, ranked, discontented, snowball, annuls, blood-soaked, sorrowless, meadow-land