Last Words of Sir Henry Lawrence.



"Let there be no fuss about me, bury me with my men."
  
  
  
The shades of death were gathering thick around a soldier's head,
A war stained, dust strewn band of men gathered around his bed.
"Comrade, good-bye; thank God your voice may cheer the dauntless brave
When I, your friend and countryman, am resting in the grave.
Hush, soldiers, hush, no word of thanks, it is little I have done
For the glory of the land we love, toward the setting sun.
I have but one request to make: When all is over, then
Let there be no fuss about me, bury me with my men.
  
Heap up no splendid monument in memory of my clay,
No tributary words to tell of one who's far away;
It matters not to passers by where lies my crumbling dust,
The cherubim and seraphim may have it in their trust;
And bones of better men than I have bleached all cold and white
Where scorching sunbeam goes by day and the prowling beast by night.
Give me a few spare feet of earth away down in the glen,
Breathing the words of faith and hope, bury me with the men.
  
Bury me with the men; when the fearful seige was gained,
With British blood and British dead the Indian soil was stained.
Poor Dugald lay that fearful night and never asked for aid,
And Fraser, wounded, cheered us on, and Allan, dying, prayed,
And brave Macdonald cheered the flag with his expiring breath.
These are the men who jeopardised their lives unto the death,
They drove the murderous Sepoys back, the wild wolf to his den;
All honor to their noble hearts; bury me with my men.
  
Is it death that's coming nearer? how clammy grows my brow;
Yes, I'm going home for promotion, the battle's over now.
Comrades, I often fancy, how upon yon blessed shore,
In that land of recognition, we may yet all meet once more.
Colonel, we'll gather round you then, as in the days of old;
Why do whisper, comrades, are my fingers growing cold?
Oh, tell my brother-officers that I thought about them when
I was going across the river; bury me with my men.
  
How very dark it's growing, I suppose it's nearly night;
Well, I think we shall see England in the morning's ruddy light.
And my mother and my sister surely I see them stand
Upon the beach, and summer flowers waving in each hand;
And sounds of joy and victory comes on the evening air.
Colonel, if I go down home first, you'll come and see us there?
Do I hear my comrades sighing? Where am I? ah, amen.
Let there be no fuss about me, bury me with my men.
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

2:22 min read
1

Quick analysis:

Scheme A bbccddaA eeffggaa hhiijjaa kkllmmaa ggnnooaA
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 2,393
Words 466
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 1, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8

Harriet Annie Wilkins

Harriett Annie Wilkins was an English-born Canadian poet, writer, and educator, author of five books of poetry. more…

All Harriet Annie Wilkins poems | Harriet Annie Wilkins Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem Last Words of Sir Henry Lawrence. 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

    "Last Words of Sir Henry Lawrence." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/55513/last-words-of-sir-henry-lawrence.>.

    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.
    2
    days
    16
    hours
    10
    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?

    »
    Who wrote the poem "There Will Come Soft Rain"?
    A Percy Bysshe Shelley
    B Sara Teasdale
    C Rainer Maria Rilke
    D Johann Wolfgang von Goethe