Soldiers are citizens of death's gray land,
Drawing no dividend from time's to-morrows.
In the great hour of destiny they stand,
Each with his feuds, and jealousies, and sorrows.
Soldiers are sworn to action; they must win
Some flaming, fatal climax with their lives.
Soldiers are dreamers; when the guns begin
They think of firelit homes, clean beds, and wives.

I see them in foul dug-outs, gnawed by rats,
And in the ruined trenches, lashed with rain,
Dreaming of things they did with balls and bats,
And mocked by hopeless longing to regain
Bank-holidays, and picture shows, and spats,
And going to the office in the train.

Added: Feb 20 2003 | Viewed: 2144 times | Comments (0)

Poet: Siegfried Sassoon
Poem: Dreamers

Year: Published/Written in 1919
There are no comments for this poem. Why not be the first one to post something about it?

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Dreamers, has not yet been commented on. You can click here to be the first to post a comment about it. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Siegfried Sassoon with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!