Desolation

Item

Desolation

OVER the bare, blank line of the ridge.
Over the stump of Sentinel Tree,
The moon slowly crosses the unseen bridge
That is set in the sky from the hills to the sea.

The sun's pale sister, moving yet dead.
The scars show dark on her weary face:
Is it strife of a million years that have bled
Her heart's life, and set Death's frosty sheen in
her place?

Is she watching our strife, the tired moon? Can she see
How the earth's face is scarred, her life ebbing fast?
And only the shorn stump of Sentinel Tree
Prays in silence, "How long will her agony last?"

Trenches, December, 1916.

Title: Desolation
Identifier: greatwar_moresongs2026

Item sets: More Songs By the Fighting Men

Media: <html xmlns:tei="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0"><body><h1 align="" class="head">Desolation</h1><div class="stanza"><p class="line">OVER the bare, blank line of the ridge.</p><p class="line">Over the stump of Sentinel Tree,</p><p class="line">The moon slowly crosses the unseen bridge</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">That is set in the sky from the hills to the sea.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">The sun's pale sister, moving yet dead.</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">The scars show dark on her weary face:</p><p class="line">Is it strife of a million years that have bled</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Her heart's life, and set Death's frosty sheen in</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">her place?</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">Is she watching our strife, the tired moon? Can she see</p><p class="line">How the earth's face is scarred, her life ebbing fast?</p><p class="line">And only the shorn stump of Sentinel Tree</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Prays in silence, "How long will her agony last?"</p></div><p>Trenches, December, 1916.</p></body></html>