 | Poems Real and Ideal |  |
354
XXII. AT LAST.
I heard a voice that said: “The time has come.
Let the whole line of bayonet-points advance”.—
I looked around the field with one last glance,
And saw once more a blackberry-hedge in bloom.
And then through curdled smoke and powdery gloom
I saw the quick fires round the cannons dance,
And saw wild pennons wave from many a lance,
And saw strange helmets flash and mad steeds loom.
Let the whole line of bayonet-points advance”.—
I looked around the field with one last glance,
And saw once more a blackberry-hedge in bloom.
And then through curdled smoke and powdery gloom
I saw the quick fires round the cannons dance,
And saw wild pennons wave from many a lance,
And saw strange helmets flash and mad steeds loom.
I drew my sword ere that great final sound
“Let the whole line advance” had fully past,
Tightened my sword-belt, and drew in my breath.
Then as the red line with a giant bound
Plunged after me, my whole soul laughed at last.—
And this was life supreme,—and this was death.
“Let the whole line advance” had fully past,
Tightened my sword-belt, and drew in my breath.
Then as the red line with a giant bound
Plunged after me, my whole soul laughed at last.—
And this was life supreme,—and this was death.
Dec. 30, 1883.
| Poems Real and Ideal | |