The Stretcher-Bearer
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
My stretcher is one scarlet stain,
And as I tries to scrape it clean,
I tell you wot -- I'm sick with pain
For all I've 'eard, for all I've seen;
Around me is the 'ellish night,
And as the war's red rim I trace,
I wonder if in 'Eaven's height,
Our God don't turn away 'Is Face.
I don't care 'oose the Crime may be;
I 'olds no brief for kin or clan;
I 'ymns no 'ate: I only see
As man destroys his brother man;
I waves no flag: I only know,
As 'ere beside the dead I wait,
A million 'earts is weighed with woe,
A million 'omes is desolate.
In drippin' darkness, far and near,
All night I've sought them woeful ones.
Dawn shudders up and still I 'ear
The crimson chorus of the guns.
Look! like a ball of blood the sun
'Angs o'er the scene of wrath and wrong. . . .
"Quick! Stretcher-bearers on the run!"
O Prince of Peace! 'ow long, 'ow long?
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 53 sec read
- 70 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEFGXGX XHXHIJIJ |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 873 |
Words | 171 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"The Stretcher-Bearer" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32658/the-stretcher-bearer>.
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