2 min read
Слушать

All night they marched

All night they marched, the infantrymen under pack,

But the hands gripping the rifles were naked

And the hollow pits of the eyes stared, vacant and black,

When the moonlight shone.

The gas mask lay like a blot on the empty chest,

The slanting helmets were spattered with rust and mold,

But they burrowed the hill for the machine-gun

As they had of old.

And the guns rolled, and the tanks, but there was no sound,

Never the gasp or rustle of living

Where the skeletons strung their wire on disputed ground ...

I knew them, then."It's eighteen years," I cried. "You must come no more.""We know your names.

We know that you are the dead.

Must you march forever from France and the last, blind war?""Fool!

From the next!" they said.

From

NG

TY, by Stephen Vincent Benet, published by Farrar & Rinehart,

New York, 1938, p. 80.

Charley Noble

0
0
85
Give Award

Stephen Vincent Benet

Stephen Vincent Benet (July 22, 1898 – March 13, 1943) was an American poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is best known for his book-len…

Other author posts

Comments
You need to be signed in to write comments

Reading today

Я улыбку твою полюбил за износ
Ryfma
Ryfma is a social app for writers and readers. Publish books, stories, fanfics, poems and get paid for your work. The friendly and free way for fans to support your work for the price of a coffee
© 2024 Ryfma. All rights reserved 12+