Poems

Poems List

Explore poems from our collection

Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Slumber-Song

Slumber-Song
Sleep; and my song shall build about your bed
A paradise of dimness. You shall feel
The folding of tired wings; and peace will dwell

148
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

South Wind

South Wind
Where have you been, South Wind, this May-day morning,—
With larks aloft, or skimming with the swallow,
Or with blackbirds in a green, sun-gli…

89
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Remorse

Remorse
Lost in the swamp and welter of the pit,
He flounders off the duck-boards; only he knows
Each flash and spouting crash,--each instant lit

115
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Secret Music

Secret Music
I keep such music in my brain
No din this side of death can quell;
Glory exulting over pain,
And beauty, garlanded in hell.

103
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Prelude to an Unwritten Masterpiece

Prelude to an Unwritten Masterpiece
You like my bird-sung gardens: wings and flowers;
Calm landscapes for emotion; star-lit lawns;
And Youth against the …

140
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Parted

Parted
Sleepless I listen to the surge and drone
And drifting roar of the town’s undertone;
Till through quiet falling rain I hear the bells
Toll…

101
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Noah

Noah
When old Noah stared across the floods,
Sky and water melted into one
Looking-glass of shifting tides and sun.
Mountain-tops were few: the s…

89
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Night-Piece

Night-Piece
Ye hooded witches, baleful shapes that moan,
Quench your fantastic lanterns and be still;
For now the moon through heaven sails alone,

120
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Morning-Land

Morning-Land
Old English songs, you bring to me
A simple sweetness somewhat kin
To birds that through the mystery
Of earliest morn make tuneful d…

105
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Morning Express

Morning Express
Along the wind-swept platform, pinched and white,
The travellers stand in pools of wintry light,
Offering themselves to morn’s long, slan…

93
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Middle-Ages

Middle-Ages
I heard a clash, and a cry,
And a horseman fleeing the wood.
The moon hid in a cloud.
Deep in shadow I stood.
‘Ugly work!’ th…

135
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Memorial Tablet

Memorial Tablet
Squire nagged and bullied till I went to fight,
(Under Lord Derby’s Scheme). I died in hell—
(They called it Passchendaele). My wound was…

117
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Joy-Bells

Joy-Bells
Ring your sweet bells; but let them be farewells
To the green-vista’d gladness of the past
That changed us into soldiers; swing your bells

120
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Limitations

Limitations
If you could crowd them into forty lines!
Yes; you can do it, once you get a start;
All that you want is waiting in your head,
For lo…

125
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

In Barracks

In Barracks
The barrack-square, washed clean with rain,
Shines wet and wintry-grey and cold.
Young Fusiliers, strong-legged and bold,
March and w…

107
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

'In the Pink'

'In the Pink'
So Davies wrote: ' This leaves me in the pink. '
Then scrawled his name: ' Your loving sweetheart Willie '
With crosses for a hug. He'd had…

112
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Hero

Hero
'Jack fell as he'd have wished,' the Mother said,
And folded up the letter that she'd read.
'The Colonel writes so nicely.' Something broke

140
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

I Stood With the Dead

I Stood With the Dead
I Stood with the Dead, so forsaken and still:
When dawn was grey I stood with the Dead.
And my slow heart said, 'You must kill, you…

117
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Glory of Women

Glory of Women
You love us when we're heroes, home on leave,
Or wounded in a mentionable place.
You worship decorations; you believe
That chivalr…

127
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Golgotha

Golgotha
Through darkness curves a spume of falling flares
That flood the field with shallow, blanching light.
The huddled sentry stares
On gloom…

101
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Fight to a Finish

Fight to a Finish
The boys came back. Bands played and flags were flying,
And Yellow-Pressmen thronged the sunlit street
To cheer the soldiers who’d refr…

111
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Falling Asleep

Falling Asleep
Voices moving about in the quiet house:
Thud of feet and a muffled shutting of doors:
Everyone yawning. Only the clocks are alert.

140
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Editorial Impressions

Editorial Impressions
He seemed so certain ‘all was going well’,
As he discussed the glorious time he’d had
While visiting the trenches.
‘One can…

112
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Sassoon

Enemies

Enemies
He stood alone in some queer sunless place
Where Armageddon ends. Perhaps he longed
For days he might have lived; but his young face
Gaze…

108