Any Woman to a Soldier
by Grace Ellery Channing
The day you march away let the sun shine,
Let everything be blue and gold and fair,
Triumph of trumpets calling through bright air,
Flags slanting, flowers flaunting not a sign
That the unbearable is now to bear,
The day you march away.
The day you march away this I have sworn,
No matter what comes after, that shall be
Hid secretly between my soul and me
As women hide the unborn
You shall see brows like banners, lips that frame
Smiles, for the pride those lips have in your name.
You shall see soldiers in my eyes that day
That day, O soldier, when you march away.
The day you march away cannot I guess?
There will be ranks and ranks, all leading on
To one white face, and then the white face gone,
And nothing left but a gray emptiness
Blurred moving masses, faceless, featureless
The day you march away.
Any Woman to a Soldier
by Grace Ellery Channing
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This poem is about the uncommon patriots. A wife must watch as her husband leaves for war. She hopes for the best but expects the worst as he battles for freedom. She doesn't do this for her, she does this for us.
ReplyDeleteI sense Naturalism in the lines "And nothing left but a gray emptiness/Blurred moving masses, faceless, featureless/The day you march away." Not only as a troop do they lose identity, but once they leave, people often forget soldiers. I'm going to re-state that this poem doesn't have to be only from a woman to a soldier, but from any one person to another person in the armed forces. Just like I commented on in Andrea's poem, it takes strength from the soldier to fight, and the family to live with constant fear.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cristina about this poem being Naturalistic in some lines and it can be seen as if they become forgotten after they leave. Overall i feel this poem is about like Gilbert said "uncommon" patriots where when they're gone, you just hope they come back and theres nothing you can really do but hope in that...
ReplyDeleteThis poem has to do with patriotism from a different point of view: the point of view of a wife who loves her husband very much but has to watch him march away to his possible death (war.) It is a subject that I'm sure many women today can relate to with the war in Irac and I can sense the harsh emotions in the poem. The wife is obviously struggling, having to worry aouit her husband dying at any second, but she has to lead on a normal life for the people around her. That is why it is a "secret" between her and her husband how they really feel about the situation.
ReplyDeleteI think this poem is about a different type of patriotism as andrea has stated but I dont think its exclusive to just females with male partners going to war.... I think its about anybody thats going to war despite the fact that the title is "any women to a soldier", I say this because I think all the feelings portrayed by the author can be also portrayed by a male centered poem.
ReplyDeleteI am completely with gilbert on this one. sometimes we forget about the families, the wives the mothers n the kids that get left behind and bear the front of worry for every road side bomb or every buried claymore that devastates the US army. the implications and anxiety of one day getting that call that your loved one is missing is killer. i dont know if i cud bear it as patiently and as strongly as these people do.
ReplyDelete"No matter what comes after, that shall be
ReplyDeleteHid secretly between my soul and me
As women hide the unborn
You shall see brows like banners, lips that frame"
I love this stanza. I think it speaks of the feelings that must be hidden to spare the feelings of the man in her life. He obviously knows it hurts her but she realizes that wearing the pain on her face only makes it harder for him. I love the fact that she, in a way, puts a tough face on for the man in her life.