1887
Alfred Edward Housman 1859 – 1936
From Clee to heaven the beacon burns,
The shires have seen it plain,
From north and south the sign returns
And beacons burn again.
Look left, look right, the hills are bright,
The dales are light between,
Because 'tis fifty years to-night
That God has saved the Queen.
Now, when the flame they watch not towers
About the soil they trod,
Lads, we'll remember friends of ours
Who shared the work with God.
To skies that knit their heartstrings right,
To fields that bred them brave,
The saviours come not home to-night:
Themselves they could not save.
It dawns in Asia, tombstones show
And Shropshire names are read;
And the Nile spills his overflow
Beside the Severn's dead.
We pledge in peace by farm and town
The Queen they served in war,
And fire the beacons up and down
The land they perished for.
"God save the Queen" we living sing,
From height to height 'tis heard;
And with the rest your voices ring,
Lads of the Fifty-third.
Oh, God will save her, fear you not:
Be you the men you've been,
Get you the sons your fathers got,
And God will save the Queen.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 11, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 198 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF CGCG HIHI JKJK LMLM NXND |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,069 |
Words | 197 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"1887" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Oct. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/866/1887>.
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