Killed In Action Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNHOPPQR SA HTBUVWXO YHZMA2B2C2D2MHRWE2 F2HHG2H2I2J2K2L2M2MN 2O2| Rupert is dead and Rupert was my friend | A |
| Only surviving son of so it ran | B |
| Beloved husband and the rest of it | C |
| But six months back I saw him full of life | D |
| Ardent for fighting now he lies at ease | E |
| In some obscure but splendid field of France | F |
| His strivings over and his conflicts done | G |
| He was a fellow of most joyous moods | H |
| And quaint contrivings ever on the point | I |
| Of shaking fame and fortune by the hand | J |
| But always baulked of meeting them at last | K |
| He could not brook and always so declared | L |
| The weak pomposities of little men | M |
| Scorned all the tin gods of our petty world | N |
| And plunged headlong into imprudences | H |
| And smashed conventions with a reckless zeal | O |
| Holding his luck and not himself to blame | P |
| For aught that might betide when reckoning came | P |
| But he was true as steel and staunch as oak | Q |
| And if he pledged his word he bore it out | R |
| Unswerving to the finish and he gave | S |
| Whate'er he had of strength to help a friend | A |
| - | |
| When the great summons came he rushed to arms | H |
| Counting no cost and all intent to serve | T |
| His country and to prove himself a man | B |
| Yet he could laugh at all his ardour too | U |
| And find some fun in glory as a child | V |
| Laughs at a bauble but will guard it well | W |
| Now he is fall'n and on his shining brow | X |
| Glory has set her everlasting seal | O |
| - | |
| I like to think how cheerily he talked | Y |
| Amid the ceaseless tumult of the guns | H |
| How when the word was given he stood erect | Z |
| Sprang from the trench and shouting to his men | M |
| Led them forthright to where the sullen foe | A2 |
| Waited their coming and his brain took fire | B2 |
| And all was exultation and a high | C2 |
| Heroic ardour and a pulse of joy | D2 |
| Forward his cry rang out and all his men | M |
| Thundered behind him with their eyes ablaze | H |
| Forward for England Clear the beggars out | R |
| Remember and death found him and he fell | W |
| Fronting the Germans and the rush swept on | E2 |
| - | |
| Thrice blessed fate We linger here and droop | F2 |
| Beneath the heavy burden of our years | H |
| And may not though we envy give our lives | H |
| For England and for honour and for right | G2 |
| But still must wear our weary hours away | H2 |
| While he that happy fighter in one leap | I2 |
| From imperfection to perfection borne | J2 |
| Breaks through the bonds that bound him to the earth | K2 |
| Now of his failures is a triumph made | L2 |
| His very faults are into virtues turned | M2 |
| And reft for ever from the haunts of men | M |
| He wears immortal honour and is joined | N2 |
| With those who fought for England and are dead | O2 |
R. C. Lehmann
(1)
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About Killed In Action
Killed In Action is a poem by R. C. Lehmann. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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