Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE NIGHT BEFORE AND THE NIGHT AFTER THE CHARGE by PATRICK MACGILL

First Line: ON SWORD AND GUN THE SHADOWS REEL AND RIOT
Last Line: TO MARK THE DUG-OUT WHERE MY COMRADES SLEEP.
Subject(s): DEATH; SOLDIERS; WAR; DEAD, THE;

On sword and gun the shadows reel and riot,
A lone breeze whispers at the dug-out door,
The trench is silent and the night is quiet
And boys in khaki slumber on the floor.
A sentinel on guard, my watch I keep
And guard the dug-out where my comrades sleep.

The moon looks down upon a ghost-like figure,
Delving a furrow in the cold, damp sod.
The grave is ready and the lonely digger
Leaves the departed to their rest and God.
I shape a little cross and plant it deep
To mark the dug-out where my comrades sleep.



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