Isandlwana

John McCrae 1872 (Guelph) – 1918 (Boulogne-sur-Mer)



Scarlet coats, and crash o' the band,
      The grey of a pauper's gown,
     A soldier's grave in Zululand,
      And a woman in Brecon Town.

My little lad for a soldier boy,
 (Mothers o' Brecon Town!)
My eyes for tears and his for joy
 When he went from Brecon Town,
His for the flags and the gallant sights
His for the medals and his for the fights,
And mine for the dreary, rainy nights
 At home in Brecon Town.

They say he's laid beneath a tree,
 (Come back to Brecon Town!)
Shouldn't I know? --  I was there to see:
 (It's far to Brecon Town!)
It's me that keeps it trim and drest
With a briar there and a rose by his breast --
The English flowers he likes the best
 That I bring from Brecon Town.

And I sit beside him -- him and me,
 (We're back to Brecon Town.)
To talk of the things that used to be
 (Grey ghosts of Brecon Town);
I know the look o' the land and sky,
And the bird that builds in the tree near by,
And times I hear the jackals cry,
 And me in Brecon Town.

     Golden grey on miles of sand
      The dawn comes creeping down;
     It's day in far off Zululand
      And night in Brecon Town.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:09 min read
89

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CBCBDDDB EBEBAFFB EBEBGGGB ABAB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,092
Words 223
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 4, 8, 8, 8, 4

John McCrae

Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae, MD was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium. more…

All John McCrae poems | John McCrae Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem Isandlwana with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Isandlwana" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/23767/isandlwana>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    7
    hours
    14
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    "My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night."
    A Wilfred Owen
    B Sylvia Plath
    C Lord Byron
    D Edna St. Vincent Millay