A Subaltern

He turned to me with his kind, sleepy gaze
And fresh face slowly brightening to the grin
That sets my memory back to summer days,
With twenty runs to make, and last man in.
He told me he’d been having a bloody time
In trenches, crouching for the crumps to burst,
While squeaking rats scampered across the slime
And the grey palsied weather did its worst.

But as he stamped and shivered in the rain,
My stale philosophies had served him well;
Dreaming about his girl had sent his brain
Blanker than ever—she’d no place in Hell….
‘Good God!’ he laughed, and slowly filled his pipe,
Wondering ‘why he always talked such tripe’.

Analysis (ai): This poem, written during World War I, reflects the emotional struggles and disillusionment of soldiers on the front lines. The speaker encounters a young soldier, his memory of a peaceful past contrasting sharply with the horrors of the trenches. The soldier shares his experiences of the relentless fighting, finding solace in the memory of his loved one. The poem's simple yet poignant language conveys the soldier's resilience and the psychological toll of war. Compared to Sassoon's other works, this poem stands out for its focus on the individual rather than collective experience, capturing the personal impact of the conflict. (hide)