Unarmed Combat Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEF EGHEIJ KLEMEN OPKQRH STUVGW VPELEJ GEXGEE YZA2B2C2D2| In due course of course you will all be issued with | A |
| Your proper issue but until tomorrow | B |
| You can hardly be said to need it and until that time | C |
| We shall have unarmed combat I shall teach you | D |
| The various holds and rolls and throws and breakfalls | E |
| Which you may sometimes meet | F |
| - | |
| And the various holds and rolls and throws and breakfalls | E |
| Do not depend on any sort of weapon | G |
| But only on what I might coin a phrase and call | H |
| The ever important question of human balance | E |
| And the ever important need to be in a strong | I |
| Position at the start | J |
| - | |
| There are many kinds of weakness about the body | K |
| Where you would least expect like the ball of the foot | L |
| But the various holds and rolls and throws and breakfalls | E |
| Will always come in useful And never be frightened | M |
| To tackle from behind it may not be clean to do so | E |
| But this global war | N |
| - | |
| So give them all you have and always give them | O |
| As good as you get it will always get you somewhere | P |
| You may not know it but you can tie a Jerry | K |
| Up without rope it is one of the things I shall teach | Q |
| Nothing will matter if only you are ready for him | R |
| The readiness is all | H |
| - | |
| The readiness is all How can I help but feel | S |
| I have been here before But somehow then | T |
| I was the tied up one How to get out | U |
| Was always then my problem And even if I had | V |
| A piece of rope I was always the sort of person | G |
| Who threw rope aside | W |
| - | |
| And in my time I had given them all I had | V |
| Which was never as good as I got and it got me nowhere | P |
| And the various holds and rolls and throws and breakfalls | E |
| Somehow or other I always seemed to put | L |
| In the wrong place And as for war my wars | E |
| Were global from the start | J |
| - | |
| Perhaps I was never in a strong position | G |
| Or the ball of my foot got hurt or I had some weakness | E |
| Where I had least expected But I think I see your point | X |
| While awaiting a proper issue we must learn the lesson | G |
| Of the ever important question of human balance | E |
| It is courage that counts | E |
| - | |
| Things may be the same again and we must fight | Y |
| Not in the hope of winning but rather of keeping | Z |
| Something alive so that when we meet our end | A2 |
| It may be said that we tackled wherever we could | B2 |
| That battle fit we lived and though defeated | C2 |
| Not without glory fought | D2 |
Henry Reed
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
About Unarmed Combat
Unarmed Combat is a poem by Henry Reed. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
Write your comment about Unarmed Combat poem by Henry Reed
Best Poems of Henry Reed