Bayonet Charge
Suddenly he awoke and was running- raw In raw-seamed hot khaki, his sweat heavy, Stumbling across a field of clods towards a green hedge That dazzled with rifle fire, hearing Bullets smacking the belly out of the air - He lugged a rifle numb as a smashed arm; The patriotic tear that had brimmed in his eye Sweating like molten iron from the centre of his chest, - In bewilderment then he almost stopped - In what cold clockwork of the stars and the nations Was he the hand pointing that second? He was running Like a man who has jumped up in the dark and runs Listening between his footfalls for the reason Of his still running, and his foot hung like Statuary in mid-stride. Then the shot-slashed furrows Threw up a yellow hare that rolled like a flame And crawled in a threshing circle, its mouth wide Open silent, its eyes standing out. He plunged past with his bayonet toward the green hedge, King, honour, human dignity, etcetera Dropped like luxuries in a yelling alarm To get out of that blue crackling air His terror’s touchy dynamite.
Bayonet Charge - meaning Summary
Terror Strips War of Ideals
The poem follows a soldier charging across a battlefield, where immediate fear overwhelms patriotic ideals. His body and mind react before he can understand why he is running, and the wounded hare intensifies the sense of helpless, indiscriminate violence. By the end, abstract causes such as king, honour, and dignity have become irrelevant beside the urgent instinct to survive.
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