The One-Legged Man

Siegfried Sassoon 1886 (Matfield) – 1967 (Heytesbury)



Propped on a stick he viewed the August weald;
Squat orchard trees and oasts with painted cowls;
A homely, tangled hedge, a corn-stalked field,
And sound of barking dogs and farmyard fowls.

And he’d come home again to find it more
Desirable than ever it was before.
How right it seemed that he should reach the span
Of comfortable years allowed to man!
Splendid to eat and sleep and choose a wife,
Safe with his wound, a citizen of life.
He hobbled blithely through the garden gate,
And thought: ‘Thank God they had to amputate!’

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

29 sec read
232

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CCDDEEAA
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 541
Words 98
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 4, 8

Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Loraine Sassoon, CBE, MC was an eminent English poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's view, were responsible for a jingoism-fuelled war. He later won acclaim for his prose work, notably his three-volume fictionalised autobiography, collectively known as the "Sherston trilogy". more…

All Siegfried Sassoon poems | Siegfried Sassoon Books

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    Lewis Carroll wrote: "You are old father William, the young man said..."
    A "and you seem to have lost your sight"
    B "and you're going to die tonight"
    C "and your hair has become very white"
    D "and your eyes have become less bright"