Moving on
Moving on - meaning Summary
Transient Wartime Bonds
Paterson’s short poem presents war as relentless movement and enforced detachment. Soldiers form fleeting friendships and accept brief comforts, only to leave again. Encounters in hospitals and the loss of comrades are treated as part of the onward march, with grief suppressed and duty prioritized. The tone blends resignation and stoic camaraderie, emphasizing impermanence and the emotional cost of continual relocation during conflict.
Read Complete AnalysesIn this war we’re always moving, Moving on; When we make a friend another friend has gone; Should a woman’s kindly face Make us welcome for a space, Then it’s boot and saddle, boys, we’re Moving on. In the hospitals they’re moving, Moving on; They’re here today, tomorrow they are gone; When the bravest and the best Of the boys you know “go west”, Then you’re choking down your tears and Moving on.
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