These Defended
...and saved the sum of things for pay
A.E. Housman (1914)
Restless, not knowing, we turn away
From what we are convinced is not real
Anguished, angry, wailing, taking the lie
To bed with us, wake and tell no one
Keep no blanket, save none from burning
Brook no curiosity about what set this fire
We are iced. We cannot stop this shivering
Every night we need remember how to sleep
All spirits, does every dream have to stop?
The times can’t be sustained. We mustn’t hope
It won’t do to suffer a reckless childhood
Suffer the enemy, this battle, our selves
Keeping a book, open up her look again
Mindful of your post, aghast, that memory
Reversed, humbled, change is awkward
Falling to the mud. Miracle, day brings sun
Rubs our eyes with the eyes of some other
Sees the next second’s flash of thunder.
© 2014 Rob Schackne
Those of you who spent a literate childhood may recall that during World War I Housman wrote "Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries", written about the terrible First Battle of Ypres (1914). While my poem owes little more to it than the title, you might wish to read his poem again.
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