Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

RECONCILIATION by SIEGFRIED SASSOON

Poet Analysis

First Line: WHEN YOU ARE STANDING AT YOUR HERO'S GRAVE
Last Line: THE MOTHERS OF THE MEN WHO KILLED YOUR SON.
Subject(s): MOTHERS; WORLD WAR I; FIRST WORLD WAR;
WHEN you are standing at your hero's grave,
Or near some homeless village where he died,
Remember, through your heart's rekindling pride,
The German soldiers who were loyal and brave.

Men fought like brutes; and hideous things were done;
And you have nourished hatred, harsh and blind.
But in that Golgotha perhaps you'll find
The mothers of the men who killed your son.




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